Amid the circle on the gilded mast,
Superior by the head, was Ariel plac'd;
His purple pinions opening to the fun,
He rais'd his azure wand, and thus begun.

Ye Sylphs and Sylphids, to your chief give ear,
Fays, Fairies, Genii, Elves, and Dæmons, hear!
Ye know the spheres, and various talks affign'd
By laws eternal to th' aerial kind.

Some in the fields of pureft æther play,

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75

And bask and whiten in the blaze of day.

Some guide the courfe of wandering orbs on high,
Or roll the planets through the boundless sky.
Some, lefs refin'd, beneath the moon's pale light
Pursue the ftars that shoot athwart the night,
Or fuck the mists in groffer air below,
Cr dip their pinions in the painted bow,
Or brew fierce tempefts on the wintery main,
Or o'er the glebe diftil the kindly rain.
Others on earth o'er human race prefide,
Watch all their ways, and all their actions guide:
Of these the chief the care of Nations own,
And guard with arms divine the British Throne.
Our humbler province is to tend the Fair,
Not a lefs pleasing, though less glorious care;
To fave the powder from too rude a gale,
Nor let th' imprison'd effences exhale;

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85

90

To draw fresh colours from the vernal flowers;

95

To steal from rainbows, ere they drop in showers,

A brighter wash; to curl their waving hairs,

Assist their blushes, and inspire their airs ;

K 4

Nay

Nay oft, in dreams, invention we bestow,

To change a Flounce, or add a Furbelow.

This day, black Omens threat the brightest Fair That e'er deferv'd a watchful fpirit's care;

Some dire difafter, or by force, or flight;

But what, or where, the fates have wrap'd in night.
Whether the nymph shall break Diana's law,
Or fome frail China-jar receive a flaw:
Or ftain her honour, or her new brocade;
Forget her prayers, or miss a masquerade;
Or lofe her heart, or necklace at a ball;

Or whether Heaven has doom'd that Shock muft fall.
Haste then, ye fpirits! to your charge repair :
The fluttering fan be Zephyretta's care;
The drops to thee, Brillante, we confign;
And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine;
Do thou, Crifpiffa, tend her favorite Lock;
Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock.

115

To fifty chofen Sylphs, of special note, We trust th' important charge, the Petticoat: Oft have we known that feven-fold fence to fail, Though stiff with hoops, and arm'd with ribs of whale Form a strong line about the filver bound, And guard the wide circumference around. Whatever spirit, careless of his charge, His poft neglects, or leaves the fair at large, Shall feel sharp vengeance foon o'ertake his fins, Be ftop'd in viols, or transfix'd with pins;

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Or plung'd in lakes of bitter washes lie,

Or wedg'd whole ages in a bodkin's eye:

Gums

Gums and Pomatums fhall his flight reftrain,
While clog'd he beats his filken wings in vain;
Or Alum ftyptics with contracting power
Shrink his thin effence like a fhrivel'd flower:
Or, as Ixion fix'd, the wretch fhall feel
The giddy motion of the whirling Mill,
In fumes of burning Chocolate shall glow,
And tremble at the fea that froths below!

He spoke; the fpirits from the fails defcend;
Sôme, orb in orb, around the nymph extend;
Some thrid the mazy ringlets of her hair!'
Some hang upon the pendants of her ear;

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14.0

With beating hearts the dire event they wait, '

Anxious, and trembling for the birth of Fate.

CANTO III.

LOSE by those meads, for ever crown'd with flowers, Where Thames with pride furveys his rising towers, There stands a structure of majestic frame,

Which from the neighboring Hampton takes its name.
Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom

Of foreign Tyrants, and of Nymphs at home;
Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,
Doft fometimes counsel take-and sometimes tea.
Hither the heroes and the nymphs refort,
To taste a while the pleasures of a Court;

VARIATION.

ΤΟ

In

Ver. 1. Close by those meads,] The first edition con

tinues from this line to ver, 24, of this Canto.

In various talk th' inftructive hours they paft,
Who gave the ball, or paid the vifit last;
One speaks the glory of the British Queen,
And one defcribes a charming Indian screen;
A third interprets motions, looks, and eyes;
At every word a reputation dies.

Snuff, or the fan, fupply each pause of chat,
With finging, laughing, ogling, and all that.
Meanwhile, declining from the noon of day,
The fun obliquely fhoots his burning ray;,
The hungry Judges foon the fentence fign,
And wretches hang that Jurymen may dine;
The merchant from th' Exchange returns in peace,
And the long labours of the toilet cease.

Belinda now, whom thirst of fame invites,

25

Burns to encounter two adventurous Knights,

At Ombre fingly to decide their doom;

And fwells her breaft with conquests yet to come.
Strait the three bands prepare in arms to join,

Each band the number of the facred nine.
Soon as the fpreads her hand, th' aërial guard
Defcend, and fit on each important card :

30

Firft

VARIATIONS.

Ver.

r. 11, 12. Originally in the first edition,

In various talk the chearful hours they paft,
Of, who was bit, or who capotted last.

Ver. 24. And the long labours of the toilet ceafe.] All that follows of the game at Ombre, was added fince the first edition, till ver. 105. which connected thus :

Sudden the board with cups and spoons is crown'd.

First Ariel perch'd upon a Matadore,

Then each according to the rank they bore;

For Sylphs, yet mindful of their ancient race,
Are, as when women, wondrous fond of place.
Behold, four Kings in majesty rever'd,
With hoary whiskers and a forky beard;

And four fair Queens, whofe hands sustain a flower,
Th' expreffive emblem of their fofter power;
Four Knaves in garbs fuccinct, a trusty band;
Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand;
And party-colour'd troops, a fhining train,
Drawn forth to combat on the velvet plain.

The skilful Nymph reviews her force with care:

35

4.9

45

Let Spades be trumps! she said, and trumps they were. Now move to war her fable Matadores,

In fhow like leaders of the swarthy Moors.

Spadillio firft, unconquerable Lord!

Led off two captive trumps, and swept the board.

59

As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,

And march'd a victor from the verdant field.
Him Bafto follow'd, but his fate more hard
Gain'd but one trump, and one Plebeian card.
With his broad fabre next, a chief in years,
The hoary Majefty of Spades appears,
Puts forth one manly leg, to fight reveal'd,
The reft, his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.

55

The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,

Proves the just victim of his royal rage.

60

Ev'n mighty Pam, that Kings and Queens o'erthrew,

And mow'd down armies in the fights of Lu,

Sad