Alas! no youth fhall my endearments share,

Nor day nor night fhall interrupt my care;
No future ftory fhall with truth upbraid

The cold indiff'rence of the Nut-brown Maid; olyan på
Nor to hard banishment shall Henry run,
While careless Emma fleeps on beds of down,
View me refolv'd, where'er thou lead'st to go,
Friend to thy pain, and partner of thy woe;
For I atteft fair Venus and her fon,

That I, of all mankind, will love but thee alone.

HENRY.

Let Prudence yet obftruct thy vent'rous way,
And take good heed what men will think and say :
That beauteous Emma vagrant courses took,
Her father's houfe and civil life forfook;
That full of youthful blood, and fond of man,
She to the woodland with an exile ran.
Reflect, that leffen'd fame is ne'er regain'd,
And virgin honour, once, is always stain❜d:
Timely advis'd, the coming evil shun;
Better not do the deed, than weep it done;
No penance can absolve our guilty fame,

Nor tears, that wash out fin, can wash out fhame,
Then fly the fad effects of defp'rate love,

And leave a banish'd man thro' lonely woods to rove.

EMMA.

Let Emma's hapless cafe be falfely told,
By the rash young, or the ill-natur'd old;
Let ev'ry tongue it's various cenfures chufe,
Abfolve with coldness, or with spite accufe ;
Fair Truth at last her radiant beams will raife,
And Malice, vanquish'd, heightens Virtue's praise.
Let then thy favour but indulge my flight,
O, let my presence make thy travels light!
And potent Venus shall exalt my name
Above the rumours of cenforious Fame;

Nor from that bufy demon's reftlefs pow'r
Will ever Emma other grace implore,

Than that this truth fhould to the world be known,
That I, of all mankind, have lov'd but thee alone.
HENRY.

But canft thou wield the fword, and bend the bow d
With active force repel the sturdy foe?.

When the loud tumult fpeaks the battle nigh,
And winged deaths in whistling arrows fly;
Wilt thou, tho' wounded, yet undaunted stay,
Perform thy part, and share the dang'rous day?
Then, as thy ftrength decays, thy heart will fail,
Thy limbs all trembling, and thy cheeks all pale;
With fruitless forrow, thou, inglorious maid,
Wilt weep thy fafety, by thy love betray'd:

2

Then to thy friend, by foes o'ercharg'd, deny
Thy little useless aid, and coward fly ;

Then wilt thou curfe the chance that made thee love

A banish'd man, condemn'd in lonely woods to rove. Á

EMMA..

With fatal certainty Thaleftris knew

To fend the arrow from the twanging yew;
And, great in arms, and foremost in the wat,
Bonduca brandish'd high the British spear.
Could thirft of Vengeance, and defire of Fame,
Excite the female breast with martial flame?
And shall not Love's diviner pow'r inspire
More hardy virtue, and more gen'rous fire?:
Near thee, mistrust not, conftant I'll abide,
And fall, or vanquish, fighting by thy fide.
Tho' my inferior strength may not allow,
That I should bear or draw the warrior bow,
With ready hand I will the fhaft supply,
And joy to fee thy victor arrows fly..

Touch'd in the battle by the hoftile reed,

Shouldft thou, (but Heav'n avert it !) shouldst thou bleed;

Το

my

hair

To ftop the wounds my finest lawn I'd tear,
Wash them with tears, and wipe them with
Blefs'd, when my dangers and my toils have fhewn,
That I, of all mankind, could love but thee alone.

HENRY.

But canft thou, tender maid, canft thou fuftain
Afflictive want, or hunger's preffing pain?
Thofe limbs, in lawn and fofteft filk array'd,
From fun-beams guarded, and of winds afraid;
Can they bear angry Jove ? can they refift
The parching Dog-ftar, and the bleak North-eaft?
When, chill'd by adverse fnows and beating rain,
We tread with weary steps the longsome plain;
When with hard toil we seek our ev'ning food,
Berries and acorns, from the neighb'ring wood;
And find among the cliffs no other house
But the thin covert of fome gather'd boughs;
Wilt thou not then reluctant fend thine eye
Around the dreary wafte, and weeping try
(Tho' then, alas! that trial be too late)
To find thy father's hofpitable gate,

And feats where Eafe and Plenty brooding fate?

;

Those seats, whence long excluded, thou must mourn ;
That gate, for ever barr'd to thy return;

Wilt thou not then bewail ill-fated love,

And hate a banish'd man, condemn'd in woods to rove?

EMMA.

Thy rife of fortune did I only wed,
From it's decline determin'd to recede?
Did I but purpose to embark with thee
On the smooth surface of a fummer's fea,
While gentle zephyrs play in profp'rous gales,
And Fortune's favour fills the fwelling fails;
But would forfake the ship, and make the shore,
When the winds whiftle and the tempefts roar?

3 D

}

No,

No, Henry, no: one facred oath has ty'd
Our loves; one destiny our life fhall guide;
Nor wild, nor deep, our common way divide.
When from the cave thou riseft with the day,
To beat the woods, and rouze the bounding prey,
The cave with mofs and branches I'll adorn,
And chearful fit to wait my lord's return;
And when thou frequent bring'ft the fmitten deer,
(For feldom, archers fay, thy arrows err)
I'll fetch quick fuel from the neighb'ring wood,
And ftrike the fparkling flint, and dress the food;
With humble duty, and officious hafte,

I'll cull the fartheft mead for thy repaft;
The choiceft herbs I to thy board will bring,
And draw thy water from the freshest spring:
And when at night, with weary toil oppress'd,
Soft flumbers thou enjoy'st, and wholesome rest,
Watchful I'll guard thee, and with midnight pray'r
Weary the gods to keep thee in their care;
And joyous ask, at morn's returning ray,
If thou hast health, and I may blefs the day.
My thoughts fhall fix, my latest wish depend
On thee, guide, guardian, kinfman, father, friend!
By all these facred names be Henry known

To Emma's heart; and, grateful, let him own,
That she, of all mankind, could love but him alone.

HENRY.

Vainly thou tell'ft me what the woman's care
Shall in the wildness of the wood prepare:
Thou, ere thou go'ft, unhappiest of thy kind!
Muft leave the habit and the fex behind.
No longer shall thy comely treffes break

}

}

In flowing ringlets on thy fnowy neck;

Or fit behind thy head, an ample round,
In graceful braids, with various ribband bound;

No

No longer shall the boddice, aptly lac'd,
From thy full bofom to thy flender waist,
That air and harmony of shape express,
Fine by degrees, and beautifully lefs;
Nor shall thy lower garments artful plait,
From thy fair fide dependent to thy feet,
Arm their chafte beauties with a modeft pride,
And double ev'ry charm they seek to hide.
Th' ambrofial plenty of thy fhining hair,
Cropp'd off and loft, scarce lower than thy ear,
Shall ftand uncouth; an horfeman's coat fhall hide
Thy taper shape, and comeliness of fide;
The short trunk-hofe fhall fhew thy foot and knee,
Licentious, and to common eye-fight free;

And with a bolder ftride, and looser air,
Mingled with men, a man thou must appear.

Nor folitude, nor gentle peace of mind,
Mistaken maid, fhalt thou in forests find:
'Tis long fince Cynthia and her train were there,
Or guardian gods made innocence their care.
Vagrants and outlaws fhall offend thy view,
For fuch must be my friends, a hideous crew!
By adverfe fortune mix'd in social ill,
Train'd to affault, and disciplin'd to kill ;
Their common loves a lewd abandon'd pack,
The beadle's lash still flagrant on their back;
By floth corrupted, by diforder fed,
Made bold by want, and prostitute for bread :
With fuch muft Emma hunt the tedious day,
Affift their violence, and divide their prey;
With fuch fhe must return at fetting light,
Tho' not partaker, witness of their night.

Thy ear, inur'd to charitable founds

And pitying love, muft feel the hateful wounds
Of jeft obfcene and vulgar ribaldry,

The ill-bred queftion and the lewd reply;
2 D 2

Brought,