THERE was on both Sides much to say:
She'd hear the Cause another Day,
And fo fhe did, and then a Third,
there fhe kept her Word;
But with Rejoinders and Replies,
Long Bills, and Answers, ftuff'd with Lies,
Demur, Imparlance, and Effoign,
The Parties ne'er could Iffue join:
For Sixteen Years the Cause was spun,
And then stood where it first begun.
Now, gentle Clio, fing or fay,
What Venus meant by this Delay.
The Goddess much perplex'd in Mind,
To fee her Empire thus declin'd,
When first this grand Debate arose
Above her Wisdom to compose,
Conceiv'd a Project in her Head,
To work her Ends; which if it fped,
Wou'd fhew the Merits of the Cause,
Far better than confulting Laws.
IN a glad Hour Lucina's Aid
Produc'd on Earth a wond'rous Maid,
On whom the Queen of Love was bent
To try a new Experiment,
She threw her Law-books on the Shelf,
And thus debated with herself.
SINCE Men alledge they ne'er can find,
Those Beauties in a Female Mind,
Which raise a Flame that will endure
For ever, uncorrupt and pure;
If 'tis with Reason they complain,
This Inftant fhall restore my Reign.
I'll fearch where ev'ry Virtue dwells,
From Courts inclufive down to Cells.
What Preachers talk, or Sages write,
These I will gather and unite,
And represent them to Mankind
Collected in that Infant's Mind,
THIS faid, fhe plucks in Heav'n's high Bow'rs A Sprig of Amaranthine Flow'rs,
In Nectar thrice infufes Bays,
Three Times refin'd' in Titan's Rays:
Then calls the Graces to her Aid,
And sprinkles thrice the new-born Maid,
From whence the tender Skin affumes
A Sweetness above all Perfumes;
From whence a Cleanliness remains,
Incapable of outward Stains;
From whence that Decency of Mind,
So lovely in a Female Kind.
Where not one careless thought intrudes,
Lefs modeft than the Speech of Prudes;
Where never Blufh was call'd in Aid,
The fpurious Virtue in a Maid,
A Virtue but at fecond-hand;
They blush because they understand.
THE Graces next would act their Part,
And thew but little of their Art;
Their Work was half already done,
The Child with native Beauty fhone,
The outward Form no Help requir'd:
Each breathing on her thrice, infpir'd
That gentle, foft, engaging Air,
Which in old Times adorn'd the Fair;
And faid, "Vanessa be the Name,
By which thou shalt be known to Fame,
Vaneffa, by the Gods enroll'd:
"Her Name on Earth
BUT fill the Work was not compleat,
When Venus thought on a Deceit :
Drawn by her Doves, away fhe flies,
And finds out Pallas, in the Skies :
Dear Palas, I have been this Morn
To fee a lovely Infant born:
A Boy in yonder Ifle below,
So like my own without his Bow,
By Beauty cou'd your Heart be won,
You'd fwear it is Apollo's Son;
But it fhall ne'er be faid, a Child
So hopeful, has by me been spoil'd;
I have enough befides to spare,
And give him wholly to your Care.
WISDOM's above fufpecting Wiles;
The Queen of Learning gravely fmiles,
Down from Olympus comes with Joy,
Miftakes Vanea for a Boy;
Then fows within her tender Mind
Seeds long unknown to Womankind;
For manly Bofoms chiefly fit,
The Seeds of Knowledge, Judgment, Wit,
Her Soul was fuddenly endu'd
With Juftice, Truth and Fortitude ;
With Honour, which no Breath can stain,
Which Malice muft attack in vain :
With open Heart and bounteous Hand:
But Pallas here was at a Stand;,
She knew in our degen'rate Days
Bare Virtue could not live on Praise,
That Meat must be with Money bought :
She therefore, upon fecond Thought,
Infus'd yet as it were by Stealth,
Some fmall Regard for State and Wealth:
Of which as fhe grew up there ftay'd
A Tincture in the prudent Maid:
She manag'd her Estate with Care,
Yet lik'd three Footmen to her Chair,
But left he should neglect his Studies
Like a young Heir, the thrifty Goddess
(For fear young Master should be spoil'd,)
Wou'd ufe him like a younger Child;
And, after long computing, found
Twou'd come to juft Five Thousand Pound.
The Queen of Love was pleas'd, and proud, To fee Vanessa thus endow'd ;
She doubted not but fuch a Dame
Thro' ev'ry Breast would dart a Flame;
That ev'ry rich and lordly Swain
With Pride wou'd drag about her Chain;
That Scholars wou'd forfake their Books
To ftuddy bright Vanessa's Looks:
As the advanc'd that Womankind
Wou'd by her Model form their Mind,
And all their Conduct wou'd be try'd
By her, as an unerring Guide.
Offending Daughters oft wou'd hear
Vaneffa's Praise rung in their Ear:
Mifs Betty, when fhe does a Fault,
Lets fall her Knife, or fpills the Salt,
Will thus be by her Mother chid,
"Tis what Vanessa never did."
Thus by the Nymphs and Swains ador'd,
My Pow'r fhall be again reftor'd,
And happy Lovers blefs my Reign -----
So Venus hop'd, but hop'd in vain.
FOR when in Time the Martial Maid
Found out the Trick that Venus play'd,
She shakes her Helm, fhe knits her Brows,
And fir'd with Indignation vows,
To-morrow, e'er the Setting Sun,
She'd all undo, that he had done.
|