■ ■ *!»*<< % ^ %^ ;- ^ o. ^ %> ';%,*1 # ^ dps* K V * v * ° / -^ V * v * ° a 9d. ''/ ^ w '%/' *v*t V\#' <£>/'• O-, ", i\ "w V * Y * ° /- ^ ^ <%. Q-, '' %***** s< \$ .*• % V ^^ tP > .r^- .rJ- - fl^ *%s %^ »<3* Q-, " ^ * ^ V ^ ^ <3* o°\ * o , ^ \> * * * ° * *fe s & ^ if ^ ^0' V' ? « c .5>'"<^ »« 00 ^ ^ /^m**^ o u . o, <^\'** S rtf ^ r- ^ V r ^0^ ^ ^ H * ° * ^fr v ^ - -• - Al JRr ojTTjrs^zM cje a papery. yp tif ^Zm^/^e eon j^tfreaAi . 1?uhl£rhtd \u-tfie -lrttfoceti'.lFe\'rj.* z $ c?.tv33Knrm.Tn.ziZ!rv7rrv. THE PLEASURES OF LOVE. POEM. BY JOHN STEWART, ESQ. Scribere jussit amor. OVID. Y 3LonDon PRINTED FOR J. MAWMAN, No. 22 POULTRY. 1806. By T. Gillet, Salisbury-square. m / & 7? AS A TRIBUTE TO THE EXALTED VIRTUES OF AN ILLUSTRIOUS house: THE FOLLOWING POEM is, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO THE MOST NOBLE ARTHUR MARQUIS OF DOWNSHIRE, BY HIS VERY GRATEFUL AND OBLIGED SERVANT, THE AUTHOR, CONTENTS. The Pleasures of Love, Part I. . Part II. Notes to Part I Part II Page . xi . . 39 . 79 .101 THE PLEASURES OF LOVE. IN TWO PARTS. THE PLEASURES OF LOVE. PART I. Here in close recess, With flowers, garlands, and sweet-smelling herbs, Espoused Eve deck'd first her nuptial bed, And heav'nly quires the bymenaean sung. MILTON. PROSPECTUS OF PART FIRST. OF all the benevolent affections, Love is perhaps the most com* prehensive in effect, and decisive in operation. From the origin of Love, (coeval with the creation of woman.) its influence has in every age softened the sternness of manners, and polished the asperity of nature. It has mitigated the ruder passions ; with the hardihood of man blended feminine delicacy 5 and nnde the stubbornness of pride not merely subservient, but auxiliary to its empire. The benignity of this principle is universally acknowledged. In all the changes of fortune, or the vicissitudes of life, its energy and its influence are unimpaired. xiv PROSPECTUS OF In the subsequent Poem a love is spoken of as illicit. Courtesy- exacts this title from the offspring of habit. But, unsanctioned by language, it should be pronounced a criminal passion : a vice arrayed in borrowed plumes but to expose its nudity ; and from which, in suitable time, those appendages are plucked, when a precise discrimination of essential requisites and boundaries be- comes indispensable. The Pleasures of Love (properly so called) neither enervate nor dispirit. They are intimately united with the finest feelings and best affections of the heart. If oppression violate the cottage of the peasant, and threaten his limbs with foreign fetters ; Love, and the smiles of his unfolding little ones, superadd irresistible claims to those of liberty and of country. Patriotism and valour nerve his arm ; and on the plain of death he wields a two-edged sword, to shield the wife of his bosom and his hereditary home. If cruelty or revenge sever the knot of happiness, deliberate resentment impels to retribution. For " deliberate resentment (as is finely expressed by an ethical writer of celebrity) is excited only by intentional injury, and therefore implies a sense of justice, or of moral good and evil." This majestic impulse is variously modified by the distinct gradations of civilization and society. PART FIRST. There exists but one affection of the human mind capable of being dignified with the appellation of love : pure, disinterested, and progressive. This affection ennobles, exalts, expands, the sensitive heart ; and on ruder nature stamps an impression pro- portionably mild. Illicit attachment mingles no real enjoyment with its criminal pursuits. It inspires no emulous propensity, no intrepidity of virtue. It is an ignis fatuus that entices the giddy and the inex- perienced into ruin. The influence of love extends to every limit of the habitable world. It actuates every class of rational existences ; the fair Eu- ropean, the tawny Asiatic, and the sable ^Ethiopian. The qui- vered Indian feels in primitive force the ardour of its power ; and, isolated from the refinements of society, is alive only to unsophis- ticated nature. From its inspiration the feathered shafts " un- erring fly;" and the thirsty lance drinks with surer aim the blood of its victim. At the hour of midnight the Spaniard wakes his guitar to chase the slumbers of his mistress. The melting serinade dissipates her PROSPECTUS OF PART FIRST. dreams, and from eyes that irradiate the solitary hour, flashes un- utterable eloquence. Love also inspiresj on numberless occasions, the desire of emu- lation. Its pervading enthusiasm plumes the pinion of the muse, imparts a finer edge to the statuary's chisel, and nature's tints to the animated canvass. It enriches at once the source of our plea- sures, and of ingenuity. When sleep has locked the senses in oblivion, Love still con- jures up the gay delusion. Fancy images new creations : and Hope, whilst she fashions the energies of fortitude, weaves the brow with her brightest roses. The pursuits of avarice and ambition can never realize such charms, even in their most fortunate attainment. The satisfaction they induce in fruition is comparatively fugitive. But the impres- sions and enjoyments of virtuous love, unaffected by contingen- cies, are equally durable and lively. PLEASURES OF LOVE. PART I. O'er Heaven's high arch the infant Hours unfold The Orient Morn, in canopy of gold, From silver urns their balmy showers effuse, And bathe her silk cheeks in ambrosial dews ; Now peep the smiles, the vermeil dimples dawn ; 5 And hues of saffron streak the azure lawn ; Now, hinged on pearl, she turns in bright display The eastern portals reddening into day, Whose genial blush bids new creations spring, And warm with life, their natal anthem sing. 10 B THE PLEASURES Thus the mute canvas, touch'd by Genius, lives, And fairy worlds the mimic pencil gives ; Up-spring the hills, with cots romantic crown' d, The ivied towers, the sloping vales around, The glittering waves that roll in limpid pride ; 15 The bending woods that clothe the glassy tide, Charm'd we survey, where not a tint was seen, Attractive graces harmonize the scene ! Lo ! 'mid the ambient blue new lustres beam, Fire the dun shade, and o'er the concave stream, 20 As the new Sun through ether's fulgid course Now shot benign in vivifying force ; With arrowy aegis lit the sapphire main, And bathed, in fluid gold, the ripening plain ; Flush'd the full blade, his mellow beauties shed, 25 And o'er the earth her vital glories spread. Here glow the flowers soft-dipt in Fancy's loom, That smile in tears, in rays caloric bloom ; OF LOVE. 3 Round the fond elm the ruby tendril throws The fruit full ripen'd, and the bud that blows ; 30 The down-wove peach, the lily's virgin bell, Bask in the blaze, with hue prolific swell : There, girt in foam, the stores of ocean roll, And lash the strand, impatient of controul. See! the warm clay, in mould celestial plann'd, 35 Roll the blue eye, and poise the sinewy hand ! Life's gushing tides a kindling glow impart, And fire the veins successive from the heart : It moves, it speaks, complete the matchless plan — Majestic beauty stamps aspiring man ! 40 Soon shall the tawny sheaf, the purpling vine, Cluster in gold, in tumid nectar shine ; For him the gilded spoil, the honied store, Load every sea, and burnish every shore. How vain the charms in bounteous nature drest, 45 To beam contentment on the care-worn breast ! b2 THE PLEASURES No jocund draught can pleasure's balm dispense, If cold satiety arrest the sense ; No mild luxuriance, no enamell'd sky, Paint the blanch' d cheek, or point the rayless eye : 50 But Hope with Ariel-wand, her visions gives, And rich with bliss the magic landscape lives. She to new joy can rouse th' enthusiast heart, And sweeter hours and softer scenes impart ; The silken tresses, and the neck of snow, 55 The smiles that sparkle, and the tears that flow, The blush, the glance, the languor, and the sigh, In soft succession, as she calls, move by. In Music light awoke the Seraph's song, Where crown' d with palms Euphrates glides along, 60 And fairy woods in gay reflection pass, The spangled fruitage nodding from the glass ; As by the margin slept the blushing Fair, On scented thyme that dew'd her silken hair ; But ah! not yet her eyes of liquid blue 65 Had tried their power, and gloried to subdue ! //£e &C&a ^Ac&tf. Pub&hed cu-the uictJ^c&.JTcv.+tiSoJ.tyJBTaHKan.izfcTtZfr;-'. OF LOVE. 5 Not half so pure, the crystal tears adorn The violets mild sweet-opening to the morn. In Eden shades with flowers eternal crown'd, Where citron arbours breathed their odours round ; 70 Primaeval Love first view'd, with blushes warm, Each flexile beauty and each orient charm ; In the clear wave her sportive image 'spies Come as she comes, and vanish as she flies ; Sees rival tints a soften' d radiance speak, 75 And blend the rose and lily on her cheek ; And all the fluttering Loves the nectar sip, Or nestle gaily on her coral lip : Her eyes told more than all the Muses tell, Though sweet to passion's ear the mimic swell; 80 Her ringlet locks with hyacinths entwined, Gave their rich clusters to the perfumed wind, Or now luxuriant o'er her ivory neck In golden waves, her tumid bosom deck, Whose crimson currents, exquisitely fine, 85 Through lucid snow in blue meanders shine ; THE PLEASURES Her buoyant limbs, in just proportion wove, Elastic float and frolic through the grove; In motion charm, in grace quiescent please, With pliant swim or harmonizing ease. 90 To ravish'd man what new creations rise, Heave his full breast, and revel in his eyes ! Love tunes his silver chord, before unstrung, And sweet vibrations tremble on his tongue ; Each throbbing pulse unknown delights improve, 95 And new emotions ail the bosom move ; By her inspired, to honour's impulse true In life's gay morn we happiness pursue, The soul's pure impulse gilds the ruddy cheek, And wafts the vow no eloquence can speak ! 100 For virtue blooms, and genial pleasure glows, Where Truth and Peace and Innocence repose ; No vicious glance, the harbinger of shame, With guilty fires pollutes the vestal flame ; No wanton wishes arm die roving eye, 105 No fiery beat inflames the kindling sigh, No faithless lip imprints the burning kiss* No tremors thrill to wake a fleeting bliss ; But raptured hours in changeless measure move, And sooth the soul to harmony and love. 110 Say not her smiles, in chains lascivious, bind The powers of taste, the energies of mind ; Unman the soul at Glory's patriot call, And bid her laurels fade, her blossoms fall ! Far other issue ! — no illusive ray 115 Here lures to cheat, or flatters to betray ; But brightening hopes, in aspiration true, With fervid march the paths of Fame pursue. In cinctured pride, see blooming Genius spread The silvery halo round his holy head ! — 120 See Science wave her snow-white pinions o'er, As the light Loves, to catch her music, soar ! See Patriot-virtue, fired by Love, impart » Strength to the arm, and valour to the heart, When their dark fate the vollied thunders shed, 125 And wide are seen the dying and the dead ! THE PLEASURES Point but the goal where honest danger lies, -n His home, his loves, his liberty, the prize, > And frowning ruin gladdens in his eyes ! J On yonder summit, round whose air-hung steep 130 In giddy chase the Alpine breezes sweep, The Switzer-shepherd cheats the happy day, And blythe his pipe, and blythe his lambkins play. Suzette with smiles rewards the votive lays, Her kiss his meed, her thanks his sweetest praise. 135 No gambols please, no chaplets weave his hair, No note melodious and no landscape fair, If Suzette frown ; — then fled is Michel's joy, Unheeded shine the glaciers of Savoy ; Whose frozen tops, beyond the rapid Thun, 140 In hoary radiance glisten to the sun. Suzette was fair, her plaited locks behind In light festoons the graceful ribbons bind ; The hat of straw half-veiPd her brunette face ; A scarlet jacket clasp'd the rustic Grace ; 145 OF LOVE. Her bright-blue kilt embroidered low with red The polish'd knee, a fringing curtain, spread. ( x ) With sportive steps the allemande she wove, Or trilPd in simple notes the strain of love ; While the rapt youth in fond delirium leans, _-. 150 And drinks of love, and wonders what it means J When lo ! Oppression bared his blood-stain'd arm, O'er calm Helvetia rolPd the loud alarm, ( 2 ) The patriot-trumpet blew with clangour clear, And roused to arms the gallant mountaineer : 155 His cradled home he quits at honour's call, Climbs the wood-cliff and stems the torrent's fall; Bounds o'er the heath where erst in happier hours For his Suzette he cull'd the Alpine flowers, And twined the rural crown with pleasing care, 160 To braid the ringlets of her yellow hair ; The red-lipp'd cherries pluck'd, his Fair to please, And spread the brimming pail, the fragrant cheese, As mid enamell'd thyme his browsing flock Cropt the young flowers, or scaled the nodding rock. 10 THE PLEASURES But now his bosom feels the patriot swell, 166 That fired for Schwitz the generous soul of Tell ; Nerved his firm arm to avenge his country's wrong, And wing'd the shaft embalmed in deathless song. But fond Suzette (what will not lovers dare ?) 170 Her Michel's toils resolved, unknown, to share ; With walnut-bronze disguised her beauteous face, Robb'd of each charm, each mild attractive grace ; Her pencil' d brow a bolder arch assumes, And her fair head sustains the warrior-plumes : 175 By Michel's side in every risk she stood, His gory path through hostile troops pursu'd. In vain the fiery chasseurs sweep the ground, In vain the red artillery thunders round : Nor flashing fate inclines her soul to yield, 180 Nor sabres gleaming through the well-fought field. O'er piles of shattered arms, and hills of slain, She guards her lover on the crimson'd plain ; While dying groans and vaunts of prowess sound ; And Earth and Heaven the mingled cries confound ! — OF LOVE. 11 The parent-bird thus shields her callow young, 186 Unfledged their down, their infant-plumes unstrung, Thus potent instinct bids her hover near, Through ether's vast their giddy flight to steer ; With pilot- wing invites their first essay, 190 'Till bold and firm they cleave the azure way. ■ When near Lausanne the Patriot legions fought, ( 3 ) And fame and freedom in the battle sought; His ivied cot again each peasant view'd, His speckled clifFs and native mountain-wood ; 195 And left the fateful toil, the loud alarms, For the calm refuge of his fair-one's arms. Michel again re-treads with eager joy The hill that show'd the glaciers of Savoy : Hears, with fond pride, his native choral song 200 Mount from each vale, and swell the hills along, As jocund youths, in flowery chaplets bound, Twine with soft nymphs, and beat the festive ground. High throbs his heart, as round his honest brow Suzette's white hands the victor garland throw ; 205 12 THE PLEASURES And soon he hears, for soon her lips confest The pure emotions of her faithful breast, How Love impeird her to th' embattled strife ; With guardian arm to fence her Michel's life ; And fann'd with vivid breath the hero-flame, 210 To give her hardy Mountaineer to fame. Propt on Morgarten's beamy height, ( 4 ) Ah ! see Helvetia's Genius stand ! Her eye of glory dimly bright ; Unnerv'd her adamantine hand, 215 Musing she points her lovely land, To ruffian-pride a hapless prey ; And, lingering, waves on Freedom's band Once more to crush a tyrant's sway. On Reding's lance she pensive leans, ( 5 ) 220 And eyes the warlike dead below ; And culls from Time his brightest scenes, And bids the sainted dust to glow. OF LOVE. Unfelt, the Alpine breezes blow ; Unseen, the nimble chamois bound ; 225 Unheard, the tumbling torrents flow, And fleet marmottos frisk around. Spirit of Life ! ( she sighs) attend, And rouse from sleep the mighty dead ; The sinewy arm of valour bend, 2S0 And plume again the warrior's head ; Helvetia mourns; for Freedom bled, When Gallia yoked her dragon-car ; And, on by scowling Treason led, Pour'd wide the crimson floods of war. 235 Ah ! yet in fire's immortal stream ; For battle steel the hero-heart ; In battle's day, in glory's beam, Thy thunders to each arm impart ; Let tyrant-guilt affrighted start, 2^0 As pale he views each falchion rear : 14 THE PLEASURES His arrows then Remorse shall dart, And the foul breast heave deep with fear. O'er sea-girt Albion still may Peace display Her seraph smiles and swell her festive lay ! 245 Her dauntless youth in every clime carest, Her graceful fair the loveliest and the best : O'er arts and arms her generous people reign, Woo the rich soil, and crowd the subject main ! And still, as Commerce guides her bold career, 250 From shore to shore the helm shall Justice steer ! Ye blushing fair that on the Muses smile, The pride, the glory of yon gallant isle ! Your charms relume, your timid lustres dart, And urge the blood's brisk eddy 'round the heart ! 255 No daring foe shall win your snowy arms, Or tread, unblest, your paradise of charms ; No haughty stranger wring the struggling tear, Or pluck the warrior-garland from the bier ; OF LOVE, 15 With impious scorn insult the tomb ye mourn, 260 The laurelled bust, the monumental urn ! And should the war- toned bugle rouse to fight, For freedom, fame, and beauty's soft delight ; By Glory braced, each buoyant arm shall wield Resistless thunders o'er the tented field ; 265 Each breast shall feel the mighty cause its own, And fence invincible the patriot throne ; With loyal pride, each hand the sword shall wave, Our King, our laws, our liberties, to save, O ! ne'er may war's dread hecatombs again 270 With gushing life-streams purple Erin's plain ; No iron furies whet th' enthusiast spear, By Frenzy couch M, to persecution dear ! But rather, blithe Content through every vale, Pluck the ripe fruit; the yellow harvest hail ; 275 Each liberal breast expand at Reason's call, And God and Country prove alike to all. 16 THE PLEASURES Lo ! on that gory beach, the murderers slew The guiltless Indians of the light canoe ! ( 6 ) 279 And Love's last pray'r, when flew the leaden death, In quick short pantings sigh'd the lingering breath : Each martyr'd form one only hope consign'd ; It lives, a phcenix-talisman, behind ! Its impulse fires the Mingo chief to arms ; The dusk-brown warrior sounds the shrill alarms ; 285 His rattling shafts, his flint-tipt spear assumes, And o'er his bronzed brow wave the scarlet plumes. Though when white Peace her budding olive sway'd His love avenged, he scour'd the forest-shade; No more with her he wings the pathless plain, 290 Or bounds triumphant o'er the billowy main ; Still, still he shuns the whirlwind of the soul, The wine that sparkles and the plighted bowl; And shrinks, in frenzy, at the 'crusted sword, Drunk with the crimson of the breast adored. 295 Oft as he mused where all he loved reclined, Each long lost vision 'bodied on the wind ; OF LOVE. 17 Would plastic Hope recall the happy hours, The hut, the swift canoe, the plantain bowers; Oft o'er his glowing cheek would sorrow stream, 300 As faded scenes came brighten' d on his dream ! Thus wild through Enna's fields the goddess flies, ( 7 ) With locks unbound and sad imploring eyes ; Pursues her midnight search the fair to gain, O'er laughing mead, sweet stream, and painted plain ; To each gay grove her dragon-coursers bend, 306 On each gay grove her -/Etna-fires descend ; The floating girdle, as forlorn she strays, With fatal truth the deed of guile betrays ; And Ceres mourns as bathed in pity's flow, 310 Sweet Arethusa weeps the tale of woe. See ! Love's bright torch illumes the Sestian tower With anxious blaze, and chides the lingering hour. Now bold Leander to the signal flies, Feels Hero's smile, and kindles in her eyes : 315 c 18 THE PLEASURES Gives his brave bosom to the dashing wave, Though drear the night and loud the tempest rave ! Crested in foam o'er Hellespont he rides, Love nerves his arm, and Love his voyage guides; His eye unwearied marks the pilot- star, 320 While his fond mistress points the goal afar : Soon near the crooked shore, he springs to land, And bounds exulting o'er the yellow strand. Thus Jove's dread bird, to gain his air-built nest, Cleaves ether's ocean with undaunted breast ; 325 The dangerous height still scans with piercing eye, The sun his signal, and his home the sky. How changed the scene, when mimic smiles decoy, And paint the phantoms of unhallow'd joy ! Illicit passion owns no angel charm, ( 8 ) 330 Inspires no throb so sensitively warm, No zest of mind with transient grace combines, No virtue feels, no happiness designs. Deluded man, no more the wise and brave, Lives but to sigh, a painted syren's slave ; 335 OF LOVE. 19 Unblest he roves through guilt's licentious wild, Smiles at his fall and sues to be beguiled ; From Valour's crown, from Reason's triumph flies, And yields a world to fall a woman's prize. When down the Cydnus ^Egypt's galley rolPd, (9) 340 Her keel, her sails, her streamers streak 'd with gold, With painted plumes while mimic Cupids blow The gelid airs, to fan the rising glow ; While silver flutes melodious panted 'round, And silver oars replied to music's sound ; 345 And eager crowds, half-bending from the shore, Caught the soft strains the rippling waters bore : The chief, whose brow imperial conquest graced, Whose sun of glory half the globe embraced, Empire resign'd ; betray'd the soldier's fame, 350 And dimm'd the splendour of a Roman name ; On fate's dread brink slept in lascivious arms, And drunk of death from Cleopatra's charms ; On Actium's day the coward fair-one fled, While the war thunder' d, and the battle bled; 355 c2 20 THE PLEASURES Still perch'd on high his veteran eagles stood, Flapp'd their bold wings andhail'dthe reddening flood, 'Till fatal Love the hero's sails unfurl'd, And lost the sceptre of a subject world. CooPd in the gales of yon iEgean isle, 360 O! wilt thou bask in Beauty's angel-smile ; ( TO ) And hear Pelides, screen'd in arbours gay, Breathe to the Doric lute his soul away ? Or see the man of wisdom, wise no more, Calypso's form, Calypso's smiles adore ; 365 And not confess the wanton's beauties lead The victim-heart, to bid it's virtues bleed ? Illicit love there kindles war's alarms, (") To Ilium guides the western world in arms ; Bids penal fire in rage avenging play, 370 Unbars the Scaean gate and points the way : In crashing piles the regal palace falls, And smouldering ruin wraps the heaven-built walls. OF LOVE. 21 Lo ! Thais leads ; the furious torches fly, ( I2 ) Hiss o'er the marble roofs and glaze the sky ; 375 The sculptured scenes in awful grandeur fade, The towering dome, the breezy colonnade. Here, when Armida weaves the mystic spell, ( I3 ) And fancy's visions o'er the landscape swell ; Remote from glory's camp, and honour's band, 380 Rinaldo yields to Beauty's soft command ; In dalliance lost, in sloth luxurious laid, He hails the nectar'd bower, the silk arcade. Yet when the shield displays, in wild surprize, ( J 4) The flower-wove ringlets and the love-sick eyes ; 385 Th' inverting mirror shows the happier way, That leads to fame's interminable day. The way-worn trav'ller thus, in cool retreat, Hides him at noon from summer's sultry heat; Some daisied hillock props his languid head, 390 And sweet he slumbers on his grassy bed ; 22 THE PLEASURES 'Till from the yellow moss at evening springs The warbling lark, and softly- plaintive sings ; Amazed, he starts ; then sees the waning day, With parting blushes on the foliage play ; 395 And, o'er the russet lawn, he gaily flies, As hopes of home in fond succession rise. When first on earth, illumined from above, The spotless bosom felt the glow of Love ; Each thought was chaste, each sympathy confest ; Each only wish, in blessing, to be blest ; 401 Each hope, the mutual transport to impart, And waft the pure vibrations to the heart. But ah ! how changed ! no more perennial here, Primaeval love, the hours of life endear ! 405 Fled are the joys sweet peace had made her own, When in the eye her chaste expression shone ; And bright content her blended hues would throw, In all the radiance of the humid bow. OF LOVE. 23 Yet still the Muse aspires to woo the fair, 410 Whose hearts unbought the Loves and Virtues share ; Who see, unenvy'd, all that chance bestows, That springs from wealth, or from ambition flows, O ! lay me by Cettina's wave, ( I5 ) Where Koter's vales of beauty spread ; 415 And Naiads of Narenta lave, From living urns, the floral bed. For, there, the eyes ingenuous speak ; And, there, the heart responsive owns The glance of hope that robes the cheek, 420 The voice that melts in softest tones ! When Love's sweet influence seizes on each vein, And the thrill'd nerves imbibe the pleasing pain ; It's dove-like glances dart the timid eye, The faltering melodies unfinish'd die ; 425 Unwonted extasies, in rapture, rove ; Unwonted pangs disclose the throbs of Love. 24 THE PLEASURES TV intrepid youth who quits his native shore, From Fortune's lap to glean the golden store ; And treads with patient pain a foreign soil, 430 By imaged love beguiles the task of toil : O'er arid plains though sad his course he bend, Her visions light his votive dreams attend ; Illusive Fancy blends her gaudiest hue, To picture beauties magically true ; 435 Dispense o'er ebon shades a lucid power, And chase the clouds that wrap the sombre hour. Thus where Pomona, cradled by the storm, ( l6 ) Bares to the frigid blast her rocky form, In light succession airy dancers fly, 440 And skim with vivid fires the northern sky. Refulgent columns gild with quivering light The wintry pall, and stud the throne of night ; The arrowy meteors charm the gazing throng, And sportive flashes pour the heavens along. 445 OF LOVE. 25 Yoke eagle wings, or course the pathless wind, To chase the still-loved image from the mind ; Trace every shore the loud Atlantic laves, Or roam with Brahmins by the Ganges waves ; Range every clime where Nature's bounties teem, 450 From Shannon's flowery banks to Jordan's stream ; Or where the Duna's wood-crown' d ices spread, Or warm Hoambo gilds his genial bed ; Or mark Coanza clear, soft-gliding by, Reflect the orange grove, the sapphire sky ; 455 Where jetty breasts divide the whispering flood, And golden fruitage wreathes the tawny wood : Fleet as the vollied flash, still Love pursues, Breathes every grace and lives in rosier hues ; Still keener points, at each remove, the dart, 460 And fires with fiercer flame the tingling heart. In orient bloom expands the wild-wood vale, And music's voice yet vibrates in the gale, Where in Vaucluse resounds the Tuscan lyre, And Laura's charms awake the poet's fire ; 465 m THE PLEASURES As Echo's bugle thrills the festal grove, To the full Paean of the lyre of love ; And Virtue's smiles, as on the heart they play, Bid Fancy's wild illusions fade away. Where gush the distant western-springs, 470 Whence Susquehanna's wave meanders ; The copper-colour'd Indian sings, As 'round her palm- wove hut he wanders ; For Love he dares the hunter's toil ; For Love he courts the shaggy spoil. 475 Though her thrill'd nerves soft passion's ingress feel, From the dear youth th* intrusive guest conceal ; Ne'er let his dubious vows her bosom move To soft confessions of confiding love ; 420 Ne'er let her scorn the barriers fenced by pride, Where truth, esteem, and modesty preside L Else will the lovely victim, left to mourn, Her victor curse, yet weep for his return ! His tide where foaming Adria pours, 425 And Venice swells her marble towers ; OF LOVE. 69 And bright an hundred turrets gleam, Reflected in the mirror- stream ; There skims the Gondola along, With silver oar and plaintive song : 430 As lorn the graceful mourner sings, And tears bedew the sighing strings. CANZONETTE. One only youth I fondly loved, I thought him true, the hope was vain ! For soon his heart a rover proved, 4/35 And left this bosom nought but pain ! Though to each flower by Brenta's stream, As swift we cut the glassy tide, He swore our hearts (ah ! fade the dream !) Nor time should change, nor fate divide, 440 70 THE PLEASURES Soft was the flute he pensive play'd : So sweet he sigh'd, he lock'd so true ; My heart he won : fond easy maid ! He own'd no heart, that beat for you. On the mute oar, the gondolier 445 Attentive lists the melting strain ; It sooths the heart, it charms the ear; But never, never wakes again ! And see ! all loose, o'er Leucate's rock reclined, Beauty's fair tresses stream upon the wind ! (*5) 450 Light swells the lyre, with music's echoes fraught, And each fine string glows eloquent with thought ! See, now the Lesbian mounts the giddy brow, While loud and wild the surges roar below ; O'er the proud cliff the sparkling billow braves, 455 Springs into air, and sinks amid the waves. Connubial love ! thy .smiles, diffusive, light The virtuous heart to innocent delight. OF LOVE. Shrined in thy breast, entranced affection lies, And lights the tell-tale magic of thine eyes. 460 Recal the scenes, when infant passion sprung, And thrilling music on each accent hung ; When the new heart, by hopes seductive kd 9 Felt beauty's fire, and waked as from the dead ; Bade through each vein exulting currents swim, 465 Tuned the mute nerve, and poised the elastic limb ; Gave to expression's grace a richer glow, The eye to sparkle, and the cheek to blow ; Then say, how soft the retrospective view Endears the past, and lures us to pursue ! 470 Thus when, for home unfurl'd his eager sail, The ardent sailor wooes the favouring gale, O'er well-known waves his dancing ensign steers ; The land-marks rise, the nearing shore appears; With thousand joys each distant vision teems, 473 Of halcyon hours, and sweetly cherish'd dreams I 72 THE PLEASURES How dear to her he meets, each danger o'er, The refluent tide that wafts him to the shore ! Should heaven propitious crown the nuptial prayer, And prattling cherubs wake parental care ; 480 O'er budding cheeks when infant roses rise, And twinkling lustres light the starry eyes ; How sweet the task, the flexile thought to mould, And childhood's germs of fancy to unfold ! Lo ! on that couch no throb the heart illumes ; 485 His icy lance the tyrant grim assumes I Yet, power of Love ! e'en here thy beams dispel The gloom, where pain and melancholy dwell ; Thy lenient balsam sooths the barbed hours, And strews the pillow with its latest flowers. 490 O! flatterer sweet, who pour'st a lucid ray O'er the calm close of life's eventful day ; When bliss no longer spurs the torpid heart, It's pulses flutter, and it's joys depart ; OF LOVE. 73 In the dread hour, when worlds unknown invite 495 The struggling soul to urge th' unmeasured flight, O'er the glazed eye thy duteous ardours shed A lambent smile, and raise the fainting head ; Thine incense mingles with the parting breath, And gilds with faith and hope the gloom of death ; 500 Thou bidd'st the soul while calm, serene the breast, Take the dove's wings, and far from sorrow rest ! ! When pensive memory wakes from every cell The sleeping visions, that she loves so well ; True to her call, their long-lost beauties give 505 A semblance fair, that seems again to live ; And still it charms, as faded pleasures smile, To seethe cheat the mourner's heart beguile ! I There, sorrowing angels grace the marble bed, And bind their garlands 'round the patriot's head ! 510 There o'er his bier Serena steals to lean, And thinks she sees him, as she once has seen ! THE PLEASURES His was the heart, to honour's impulse true, The base to scorn, the lofty to pursue ; By rank emblazon'd, and by fortune graced ; 515 Too wise to hoard, too provident to waste ; His every thought and every action just : His sovereign's stay, his weeping country's trust : Ah ! yet, Serena ! o'er those ashes bend ; Those were Palaemon, and the muse's friend ! 520 When, launch'd by fate, the shaft unerring flies, To dim the hope that laugh'd in beauty's eyes ; O'er the sad grave, and 'round the fluted urn, We pansies strew and softly pensive mourn ; The well-known step in every wind we hear, 525 The voice so loved yet charms affection's ear ; In gay illusion smile the form, the face, Rich in each tint and glowing in each grace. O ! crowd with rival sweets Sabina's tomb, And give her turf to wear immortal bloom ! 530 OF LOVE. 75 For there inura'd earth's purest beauties rest ; Strew then with purest flowers her lily-breast. Ye wedded fair ! if passion's guilty fire Usurp the heart, and urge the wild desire ; Far from the bosom let the torch be thrown, 535 And faith and innocence be all it's own ! Soon pleasure dies, the brief delirium o'er ; But anguish wakes the worm that dies no more. How changed the hours, as flies the halcyon scene, Where beauty shone unsullied and serene ! 540 'Round the climb' d knee no prattling cherubs cling, The infant-lips no vesper anthems sing ; No fine emotions light the ravish'd eye, To catch expression's graces^ as they fly ! No lisping tongue, no laughing eyes, proclaim 5i<5 A mother's blessing, in a mother's name ! Too late, contrition pours the scalding tear, ( l6 ) To dress in sallow grief the virtues' bier I 76 THE PLEASURES Blest is the man, for whom content arrays Truth's angel smile, and lights with peace his days ! Whose generous heart, each selfish care unknown, 551 Feels other's woes and other's joys it's own ; Who nobly yields to beauty's radiant charms, Owns her pure triumph, clasp'd within her arms ; And joys upon her bosom to repose, 555 When all the soul in thrills of rapture glows. Yes, Love connubial sheds celestial grace, And smiles unfading light her blooming face. Still for calm scenes and rural shades she sighs, For limpid streamlets and for sapphire skies ! 560 Now climbs, with orient morn, the wood-cliff steep, And marks the first blush on the rosy deep ! Now roves with eve, where spicy arbours swell, And counts the tinkles of the distant bell ; As russet toil embrowns the village throng, 565 t And festive echo wafts the mirth along, O ! ever thus let woman's witching bloom ling ethe fair cheek, the lucid eye illume; OF LOVE. 77 Bend every nerve to beauty's fine control, And guide each rising impulse of the soul ; 570 O'er every brow her wreaths of myrtle bind* And care and sorrow scatter to the wind ; Bid with strong flame the fire of genius glow, And weave her lilies 'round his youthful brow ! Yet should, perchance, unhallow'd vows profane 575 Her sainted joys, her snowy altar stain ; If pride and avarice to her temple move,, O ! frown indignant on polluted love ! Bid snaky hate the nuptial mazes dance* And keen suspicion dart the jaundiced glance ; 580 Bid jealous fear in livid misery glare, And feel the icy arrows of despair ! Hail ! sweetest love ! thy vivid colours glow, Dipt in the smiles of heaven's refulgent bow ! In Eden's vernal bowers, thy nascent charms 585 Won the great sire of mortals to thine arms ; When, crown'd with gold, the starry choirs sublime, Attuned their viols to the birth of Time: 78 THE PLEASURES OF LOVE. E'en in that hour when first entranced, he stood, And saw thee slumber in the citron-woocM 590 Soft as he prest thy cheeks so rosy fine, And smoothed with fingers light thy locks divine; Thou bad'st each pulse, in high vibration own, That bliss is nursed in Woman's smile alone. For say, can all that wealth or pride would give, 595 Bid on the brow a wreath, like beauty's, live ? Can all ambition's spoil a bliss impart, Like woman's magic on the feeling heart ; The hopes, the joys, the soft bewitching fears, The smiles, the sighs, the languor of her tears ? 600 Her hand unlocks the spring of joy below, And bids around the streams of pity flow ! Hail, power of Love ! on earth each bosom fire, 'Till Time in dread eternity expire \ THE END. NOTES, NOTES ON PART THE FIRST. NOTES ON PART THE FIRST. NOTE1. Verse 147- " The polish'd knee, a fringing curtain, spread." The dress of Suzette, as here described, is that worn by the female peasants of the village of Langenau. NOTE 2. Verse 153. " O'er calm Helvetia roll'd the loud alarm/' This alludes to the violation of Swiss independence, by the First Consul of France, in 1802. g2 34 NOTES ON NOTE 3. Verse 192. * When near Lausanne the Patriot legions fought." The effrontery of French interference roused the patriot bands of Swisserland to arms. A battle was fought near Lausanne, on the 3d October, 1802. The confederates were triumphant : and the peasants of the mountainous cantons were proudly conspicuous in the glory and the dangers of the day. NOTE 4. Verse 212. " Propt on Morgarten's beamy height.' 7 " In 1315, Leopold, Duke of Austria, marched against the confederate cantons, at the head of twenty thousand troops ; and endeavouring to force his way PART THE FIRST. S5 into Schweitz, at the streights of Morgarten, received a total defeat from thirteen hundred Swiss, who were posted upon the mountains. If we may believe con- temporary historians, the Swiss lost but fourteen men in this memorable engagement which insured their independence ! In the same year the three cantons, Schweitz, Uri, and Underwalden, contracted a per- petual alliance, which was ratified at Brunnen; and is the grand foundation of the Helvetic confederacy." ( Coxe, ) NOTE 5. Verse 220. " On Reding's lance she pensive leans." Aloys Reding, one of the most distinguished leaders of the Swiss patriots, in modern times, $6 NOTES ON NOTE 6. Verse 279. " Lo 1 on that gory beach, the murderers slew The guiltless Indians of the light canoe !" In the spring of the year 1774, a robbery and mur- der were committed on an inhabitant of the frontiers of Virginia, by two Indians of the Shawanee tribe. The neighbouring whites, according to their custom, undertook to punish this outrage in a summary way. Colonel Cresap, a man infamous for the many murders he had committed on those much-injured people, col- lected a party, and proceeded down the Kanhaway in quest of vengeance. Unfortunately a canoe of women and children, with one man only, was seen coming from the opposite shore, unarmed, and unsuspecting a hostile attack from the whites. Cresap and his party concealed themselves on the bank of the river ; and the moment the canoe reached the shore, singled PART THE FIRST. 87 out their objects, arid at one fire, killed every person in it. This happened to be the family of Logan, who had long been distinguished as a friend of the whites. A war ensued, in which Logan signalized himself: but the Indians were finally defeated, and sued for peace. Logan disdained to be seen amongst the suppliants. But lest the sincerity of a treaty should be distrusted, from which so distinguished a Mingo chief absented himself, he sent by a messenger the following speech to be delivered to Lord Duxl- more i " I appeal to any white man to say, if ever he en- tered Logan* s cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat ; if ever he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his cabin, an ad- vocate for peace.. Such was my love for the whites, that my countrymen pointed as they passed, and said, " Logan is the friend of white men." I had even NOTES ON thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relations of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country I rejoice at the beams of peace. But do not harbour a thought, that mine is the joy of fear ! Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan ? Not one." ( Morses America* p. 18.) NOTE 7. Verse 302. ; Thus wild through Enna's fields the goddess flies.' When Proserpine was carried away by Pluto from PART THE FIRST. 89 the beautiful plains of Enna in Sicily, Ceres in vain sought her daughter in every part of that kingdom. On the approach of night, she lighted two torches at the flames of Mount iEtna, to continue her search over the world. At length, she discovered the girdle of Proserpine on the surface of the waters of the fountain Cyane ; and learned the fatal theft from the kindness of the nymph Arethusa. NOTE 8. Verse 330. " Illicit passion owns no angel charm." From the earliest antiquity, two goddesses of Love were universally recognized ; and their attributes dis- tinctly understood : the Venus Pandemos or Popula- ris, and the Venus Urania or Caelestis. The for- mer, the goddess of wanton, the latter, of virtuous Love. ! 90 NOTES ON NOTE 9. Verse 340. " When down the Cydnus ^Egypt's galley rolPd." The beautful Cleopatra, having supported the con- spirators of Caesar, was surrtmoned by Mark Antony, on his expedition to Parthia, to answer for her con- duct* She relied on her charms for an honourable acquittal. Luxuriantly habited in the profusion even of oriental magnificence, which displayed to imposing advantage the splendour of her attractions, she made the conquest of his heart. The victory was fatal ! When Antony and Augustus met afterward at Ac- tium, the desertion of Cleopatra early in the action, with sixty sail, ruined the fortunes of her lover, and lost him the empire of the world. For the elegant description of Cleopatra in her barge, see Dry den's « All for Love." (III. J PART THE FIRST. 91 NOTE 10. Verse 3S1. " Cool'd in the gales of yon iEgean isle, O ! wilt thou bask in Beauty's angel-smile." On the subject of Achilles in disguise, in the island of Scyros, see the beautiful cantata of ff The. Triumph ©f Glory," by Metastasio* NOTE 11. Verse 368. " Illicit love there kindles war's alarms." The war between Greece and Troy, occasioned by the flight of Helen with Paris, 92 NOTES ON NOTE 12. Verse 374. u Lo ! Thais leads ; the furious torches fly." Thais instigated Alexander to the burning of Per- sepolis : and led the way, it is said, with a torch in her hand. (Dry den' s Ode on St. Cecilia's Feast.) NOTE 13. Verse 378. €i Here, when Armida weaves the mystic spell, Remote from glory's camp, and honour's band, Rinaldo yields to Beauty's soft command." In the enchanted island of Armida, when Charles and Ubald enter the gardens, they find Rinaldo the victim of sensuality. PART THE FIRST. " Dependent from his side (unusual sight) Appear'd a polish' d mirror, beamy bright : This in his hand th' enamour'd champion raised 5 On this, with smiles, the fair Armida gazed. She in the glass her form reflected 'spies, And he consults the mirror of her eyes. One proud to rule, one prouder to obey ; He blest in her, and she in Beauty's sway. NOTE 14. Verse 384. u Yet when the shield displays, in wild surprize." Rinaldo, when the knights he spies, When their bright armour lightens in his eyes, At once the glorious beams his soul inspire, His breast rekindles with a martial fire. Then sudden, forth advancing, Ubald held Before the youth his adamantine shield. 94 NOTES ON ■ Awhile the youth in silence mused, All motionless he stood, with looks confused ; 'Till shame gave way, and stronger anger rose, A generous anger that from reason flows : O'er all his face a nobler ardour flies, Flames on his cheek, and sparkles in his eyes. Now hastening from the bower, their way they hold, Tassels Jerusalem Delivered \ by Hoole, B. 16. p. 158, 161—163. This passage must not be improperly construed. Heaven was never meant as a suicide's reward. An idea so wild and extravagant could not have been cherished but by the miserable enthusiast. PART THE FIRST. 95 Note 15. Verse 414. '* O ! lay me by Cettina's wave," &c. The charming Tallies of Koter, watered by the rivers Kerha, Cettina, and Narenta, are inhabited by the Morlacchi, and situated among the inland moun- tains of Dalmatia. Fortis says that " the female Morlacchi are susceptible of the purest and most last- ing attachments. Their sensibility sparkles in their eyes ; and they establish a convincing proof that delicacy of sentiment can animate minds, not formed (or, rather, not corrupted) by society, which we call civilized." * L 96 NOTES ON NOTE 16- Verse 438. « Thus where Pomona, cradled by the storm." The mainland or principal island of the Orkneys is frequently called Pomona, and the Auroras Boreales merry-dancers, by the inhabitants. These are remark- ably beautiful and luminous. They constantly ap- pear about twilight in clear evenings, and afford great relief through the gloom of the tedious wintry nights. NOTE 17. Verse 546. « How soon dejected Love the veil resign'd, That hope's white fingers wove for Darnley's mind ! " " Darnley's external accomplishments had excited the sudden and violent passion, which raised him to PART THE FIRST. 97 the throne. Bat the qualities of his mind corresponded ill with the beauty of his person. Of a weak under- standing, and without experience, conceited at the same time of his own abilities, and ascribing his ex- traordinary success entirely to his distinguished merit. All the Queen's favour made no impression on such a temper. All her gentleness could not bridle his imperious and ungovernable spirit. All her attention to place about him persons capable of directing his conduct, could not preserve him from rash and impru^ dent actions. Fond of all the amusements, and even prone to all the vices of youth, he became by degrees careless of her person, and a stranger to her company. To a woman, and a Queen, such behaviour was into- lerable. The lower she had stooped to raise him, his behaviour appeared the more ungenerous and crimi- nal : and in proportion to the strength of her first af- fection, was the violence with which her disappointed passion now operated. A few months after the mar- riage their domestic quarrels began to be observed. 93 NOTES ON The extravagance of Darnley's ambition gave rise to these." Robertson s Scotland, b. 4. p. 210. NOTE 18. Verse 55S. " By her inspired, in fine proportions sprung Those rounded limbs, in ease attractive hung." The inimitable statue of the Venus de Medicis. NOTE 19. Verse 56k i( Creative, here, she blended every hue, In the rich tints Corregio's pencil drew." This alludes to a most charming picture at Flo- rence, done by Corregio, representing Love in the bloom of youth. PART THE FIRST. 99 NOTE 20. Verse 566. 91 O'er sweet Albani's shed her softest light." In the palace of Corsini, at Florence, is a most beautiful picture, by the pencil of Albani. It repre- sents a dance by the Loves, as described in the Poem. NOTE 21. Verse 612. 11 Where Orellana spurns the ocean's bound." The river Amazon or Orellana has its source amongst the Andes in Peru, and is the largest in the known world. It runs at least three thousand miles. The expression used, " spurning the ocean's bound," is justified by the singular impetus of this river ; for dien pouring itself into the ocean (directly under the equinoctial line), it repels the brine to the distance of many leagues from the land. h2 m II 100 NOTES ON PART THE FIRST. NOTE 22. Verse 674. M Can mould, like love, the inexpressive charm.' Wealth and power may gratify a temporary vanity, and that gratification may assimilate remotely to a pleasure ; but neither in effect nor in duration can they be compared with the delights resulting from virtuous Love. NOTES ON PART THE SECOND. NOTES PART THE SECOND. NOTE 1. Verse 139. " Nor blush, Philander, if in votive lay The lyre of Love to thee it's homage pay." The London diurnal prints some time since related a singular instance of " Love at first sight," in the example of a merchant of property in that city, and Jenny of Harrow, the Cottager's daughter. 104 NOTES ON NOTE 2. Verse 189. u Lamented Andre ! o'er whose early bier." The unmerited fate of the gallant Major Andre is known to every heart of sensibility. It is finely de- picted in the elegant " Monody on Major Andre," from the glowing pen of Miss Seward. NOTE 3. Verse 206. " With starry night, behold the mourner rove The hills of slain, to clasp her clay-cold love." This alludes to the Episode of Teribazus and Ari- ana, in Glover's Poem of Leonidas. It is here introduced to expose the fatal effects of PART THE SECOND. 105 irrational pride, in agonizing the acute sensations of the heart. See Glover s LeoniJas, b. 9. NOTE 4. Verse 216. " Ambition's eye be sainted by a tear/' In Xerxes' presence are the bodies placed, Nor he forbids. — — — — He in dejection had already lost His kingly pride, the parent of disdain, And cold indifference to human woe. Not e'en beside his sister's nobler corse Her humble lover could awake his scorn. The captives told their piercing tale. He heard, He felt awhile compassion. G. Leon. b. 10. 106 NOTES ON NOTE 5. Verse 218. " In fatal prejudice what visions roll, To dim the blaze of Eloisa's soul!" Perhaps from Eloisa's fastidious repugnance to the nuptial state may be deduced all her subsequent mi- series. The lovely enthusiast resisted the warmest importunities of Abelard himself, after she had fled to his protection from the care of Fulbert : and pre- ferred, for a considerable period, an unhallowed to a virtuous attachment. So accurately has Pope pre- served the spirit of her leters : " No, make me mistress of the man I love." Pope. PART THE SECOND. 107 NOTE 6, Verse 254. " Her fervid sighs from Paraclete resound* St. Gildas' cells re-vibrate to each sound.' 9 When Abelard was appointed superior of the Ab- bey of St.Gildas,he removed Eloise from the priory of Argenteuil to the Paraclete, of which she was the first abbess. A Nunnery was founded there by Innocent the 2d in the year 1131. NOTE 7. Verse 262. " The matron clasp 'd her Pompey in her arms." # Cornelia, the wife of Pompey, extolled for her ex- alted virtues. L 108 NOTES ON NOTE 8. Verse 265, " Her faith to prove, great Portia smiled to bleed. " " Portia was a daughter of Cato of Utica, and mar- ried to Brutus. She was remarkable for her prudence, philosophy, courage, and conjugal tenderness. She gave herself a heavy wound in the thigh to see with what fortitude she could bear pain ; and when her husband asked her the reason of it, she said, that she wished to try whether she had courage enough to share, not only his bed, but his most hidden secrets, Brutus was astonished at her constancy, and no longer detained from her knowledge the conspiracy formed against Julius Caesar." NOTE 9. Verse 270. " Lo ! the fond pair ! where glows the vengeful pyre ; The circling faggots reddening at the fire." See the story of Olindo and Sophronia, in Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, b. 2. vol. 1. NOTE 10. Verse 293. €t Penelope in grace illusive smiles. " Penelope, in the absence of Ulysses. 110 NOTES ON NOTE 11. Verse 311. " Thus Caesar's sister, hapless consort ! strove." Octavia, sister to the Emperor Augustus, and mar- ried to Mark Antony. NOTE 12. Verse 342. " And fame's own banner fans the laurell'd plain." This refers to the success of the glorious expedition to iEgypt, under General Sir Ralph Abercrcmbie, at the landing in March 1801. PART THE SECOND. 1J1 NOTE IS, Verse 40*. H And, if subdued he sleeps, he sleeps to die." To illustrate this, the following extract from a work lately published may be gratifying. The scene of action is the island of Terra del Fuego at the southern extremity of America. And the time January, or the midsummer of that inhospitable region. " Sir Joseph (then Mr.) Banks and Dr. Solander were desirous of availing themselves of a fine day, which in that climate is very rare, even at that time of the year, to explore a country which had never been visited by any Botanist. For this purpose they went on shore early in the morning, being twelve in company. They presently found great and unex- 112 NOTES ON pected impediments in their progress, by deep swamps and thick underwood ; so that they were till 3 o'clock in the afternoon employed in ascending a mountain. When suddenly the air, which had been till then se- rene and mild, became cold and piercing, and snow began to fall; notwithstanding which, they proceeded in expectation of reaching the rocky part of the hill, which lay before them at a small distance. This per- severance was rewarded by finding a great variety of plants entirely unknown to Botanists. The day however was so far spent that it was impossible to return to the ship that night, and the cold had by this time become very intense, and large quantities of snow had fallen, so that the most dreary prospect presented itself. Whilst they were proceeding in search of the nearest valley, Dr. Solander, who was well acquainted w T ith the effects of intense cold, having passed over the mountains that divide Sweden and Norway, represented to the company the neces- sity they were under of continuing in motion, how- PART THE SECOND. 113 ever they might feel themselves attacked by lassitude and sluggishness. He assured them, whoever sat down would sleep, and whoever slept would wake no more. " They had not proceeded far before the effects ap- prehended began to be felt : and he who had thus cautioned others was the first to declare himself unable to observe his own precepts. At length overcome by a stupor he threw himself on the ground, although it was covered with snow. A black servant of Mr. Banks, named Richmond, next yielded to the fatal propensity. In this distress five of the company were sent forward to make a fire at the first convenient place they could find, while the rest continued with the doctor, making use of every means to keep him awake. The poor negro was so overcome with fa- tigue, that, being told he must keep in motion, or he would be frozen to death, he replied, that he desired only to lie down and die. At length all the en- 114 NOTES ON deavours of the company were ineffectual, their whole strength was not sufficient to carry their two exhaust- ed companions, so that they were suffered to sit down, and in a short time fell into a sound sieep. In a few minutes after, news was brought that a fire was kindled at the distance of about a quarter of a mile. Dr. Solander was then waked with great difficulty, but during his short sleep his muscles were become so contracted, that his shoes fell off from his feet, and he had almost lost the use of his limbs : but all at- tempts to wake the servant were ineffectual. Two men who seemed to have suffered the least by the cold, w T ere left to look after him ; and in a short time two others were sent to their relief. One of the former rejoined the company, but the other was quite insensible. Their companions however made them a bed of boughs, and spread the same covering over them to a considerable height, and in this situation left them. — PART THE SECOND. 115 It was not till 6 o'clock in the morning that they could discover the place of the sun through the clouds which then began somewhat to disperse. With fore- boding apprehensions, they went in search of poor Richmond and the other man, whom they found quite dead." See Geography, by the Rev. Mr. Goldsmith. NOTE 14. Verse 405. '* Yon tall grass wild, where high the lime-trees wave." " At the corner of the church-yard, which looks toward the fields, there are two lime-trees ; it is there I wish to rest." Werter*s last letter to Charlotte. i 2 116 NOTES ON NOTE 15. Verse 449. " And see ! all loose, 6'er Leucate's rock reclined, Beauty's fair tresses stream upon the wind !" " There is a promontory of Acarnania, called Leu- cate, on the top of which was a little temple dedicated to Apollo. In this temple it was usual for despairing lovers to make their vows in secret, and afterwards to fling themselves from the top of the precipice into the sea, where they were sometimes taken up alive. This place was called ' the Lover's Leap/ Those who had taken this leap, were observed never to re- lapse into that passion. Sappho tried the cure, but perished in the experiment !" Spectator, vol. hi. 223. PART THE SECOND. 117 NOTE 16. Verse 547. ahsL;ury bqua DEC 161948 X ^ ^\,# */7^ a gv V' a gv v*r" sr 7^ ^ J, F ex * ■%. \* *+<$ cv ^ ■ - & « ^ %^ g|V%^ ; — - s <# Y . <,' --# +. 0° *I "'. ^ ' «-3 wm? * < , « : - - A * . v* ^ G w r " -^0^ q>/^ ^/ f ^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 548 983