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Through all the Story of his Love he ran,
And nought forgot that might increase his pain.
Then with a figh raifing his heavy Eyes,
Th' approach of his afflicted Nymph he spies;
Sad as fhe was, fhe loft no ufual Grace,
But as the pafs'd feem'd to adorn the place:
Thither the came to take her laft farewel;
Her filent Look did her fad Bufinefs tell.
Under a neighb'ring Tree they fat 'em down,
Whofe fhade had oft preferv'd 'em from the Sun;
Each took the other by the willing hand,
Striving to speak, but could no word command:"
With mutual Grief both were fo overcome,
The much they had to fay had made 'em dumb.
There many a time they two had met before,
But met, alas! upon a happier fcore:
Cruel reverse of Fate, which all the Joys
Their mutual prefence us'd to bring, destroys.
Sireno faw his Fatal hour draw near,

And wanted ftrength the parting pang to bear;
All drown'd in tears he gaz'd upon the Maid,
And the with equal Grief the Swain furvey'd ;
Till his imprifon'd paffion forc'd its way,
And gave him leave faintly at laft to say,
SIRENO.

O my Diana! who wou'd have believ'd
That when the fad Sireno moft had griev'd,
Any affliction cou'd have fall'n on me
That wou'd not vanish at the fight of thee?
Thy charming Eyes cou'd all my Clouds difpel;
Let but Diana Imile, and all was well.
Abfent from thee my Soul no Joy cou'd know,
And yet, alas! I dye to fee thee now.

DIANA.

Turn, O Sireno! turn away thy Face, While all her fhame a blufking Maid betrays; For though my Eyes a fecret pain reveal, My tongue at leaft fhou'd my fond thoughts conceal:

Yet I wou'd speak, cou'd speaking do me good,
And fince it is to thee, methinks it shou'd.
O Shepherd think how wretched I fhall be,
When hither I return depriv'd of thee!
When fitting all alone within this shade,
Which thou so oft thy tender Choice haft made,
I read my Name Engrav'd on every bark,
Of our paft Love the kind affecting mark;
Then my defpairing Soul to death must fly;
And muft thou be content to let me dye?
Why doft thou weep? Alas! those Tears are vain,
Since 'tis thy Fault that both of us complain.
By this the Falfhood of thy Vows I know,
For were thy Sorrow true, thou wou'dst not go.
SIRENO.

Ceafe, cruel Nymph, fuch killing Language cease, And let the poor Sirėno dye in peace.

Witness

ye Everlafting Powers above,

That never Shepherd bore a truer Love!
With thee I with 't had been my happy doom,
With thee alone to spend my Life to come;
That we now part is by no fault of mine,
Nor yet, my deareft Shepherdefs, of thine;
For as no Faith 'did ever mine excel,
So never any Nymph deferv'd fo well.
But the great Shepherd, whom we all obey,
'Tis his Command that forces me away;
Whatever he ordains none dare refufe;
1 muft my Joy, or elfe my Honour, lofe;
Should I to him deny th' Allegiance due,
Thou might'ft to thee think me difloyal too.

DIANA.

No, no, Sirene, now too late I find,
How fond fhe is that can believe Mankind,
Who fuch Excufes for himself pretends,
Will eas'ly bear the abfence he defends.
A little time, 1 fear, will quite deface
Thy thoughts of me, to give another place:

Fool that I was my weakness to betray,
To one not mov'd with all that I can fay.
Go, cruel Man, imbark when e'er you please,
But take this with you as you pass the Seas;
Tho' with the fierceft Winds the Waves fhould roar,
That Tempeft will be less than mine on Shore.
SIRENO.

'Tis hard, unjust suspicions to abide,
But who can fuch obliging Anger chide?
Fair as thou art, that Charm cou'd never move
My heart to this degree, without thy Love:
For 'tis thy tender sense of my fad Fate,
That does my fharpeft, deadly'st pain create.
Ah fear not, to what place foe'er I go,
That I fhall ever break my facred Vow:
When for another I abandon thee,

May Heav'n, for fuch a Crime, abandon me.

DIANA.

If ever I my dearest Swain deceive,
Or violate the Faith that here I give :

When to their Food my hungry Flocks I lead,
May the fresh Grafs ftill wither where they tread;
And may this River, when I come to drink,
Dry up as foon as I approach the brink.
Take here this Bracelet of my Virgin hair,
And when for me thou can't a minute fpare,
Remember this poor pledge was once a part
Of her, who with it gave thee all her heart.
Where-e'er thou go'ft, may Fortune deal with thee
Better than thou, alas! haft dealt with me.
Farewel; my Tears will give me leave to say
No more than this, To all the Gods I pray
Thefe weeping Eyes may once enjoy thy fight,
Before they close in Death's eternal Night.
SIRENO.

Then let Sireno banish all his fears,
Heav'n cannot long refift fuch pious Tears.
The Righteous Gods, from whom our paffion came,
Will pity (fure) fo innocent a Flame;

Reverse the hard Decree for which we mourn,
And let Sireno to his Joys return.

I shall again my Charming Nymph behold,
And never part, but in her Arms grow old:
That hope alone my breaking heart fuftains,
And arms my tortur'd Soul to bear my Pains.

The STORY of LUCRETIA. Out of Ovid de Faftis. Book II.

English'd by Mr. Creech.

OW Tarquin the laft King did govern Rome,

Some Towns he won, fome he did fairly beat,,
And took the Gabii by a mean deceit ;
For of his three brave Youths his youngest Son,
His Nature fierce, his Manners like his own,
His Father's Child outright, pretends a flight,
And came amidst the Enemies by Night;
They drew their Swords, Come kill me now, he said,
My Father will rejoice to fee me dead:

See how his Rods my tender Entrails tore,

(To prove this true, he had been whipt before)

The men grow mild, they heath their threatning

Swords,

And view his wounds, and those confirm his words:
Then each man weeps, and each his wrongs refents,
And begs to fide with them, and he confents.
Thus gull'd, the crafty Youth, and once in trust,
The firft occafion fought to be unjust,
And the unthinking Gabii's Town betray,
Confults his Father for the fureft way.

There was a Garden crown'd with fragrant Flowers,
A little Spring ran through the pleasant Bowers,
The foft retreat of Tarquin's thinking hours.

}

There when the meffage came, he chanc'd to ftand,
And lopt the tallest Lillies with his wand:
With that the Meffenger return'd, and said,
I faw your Father crop the lofty head

Of each tall Flower, but not one word to you;
Well, fays the Son, I know what I must do;
And freight the Nobles kill'd; when those were gone,
He foon betray'd the poor defenceless Town.
When lo (a wond'rous fight) a Serpent came,
And fnatcht the Entrails from the dying Flame;
Phoebus advis'd, and thus the Answer ran,
He that fhall kifs (for fo the Fates ordain)
His Mother firft, fhall be the greatest man.

}

}

Then ftreight with eager hafte th' unthinking Crowd
Their Mothers kiss'd, nor understood the God.
But wifer Brutus, who did at the Fool,
Left Tarquin should fufpect his rifing Soul,
Fell down, as if't had been a cafual fall,
And kifs'd his Mother Earth before them all.
Now Ardea was befieg'd, the Town was ftrong,
The men resolv'd, and fo the Leaguer long:
And whilft the Enemy did the War delay,
Diffolv'd in Eafe the careless Soldiers lay,
And spent the vacant time in fport and play.
Young Tarquin doth adorn his Noble Feafts,
The Captains treats, and thus befpeaks his Guests;
Whilft we lye lingring in a tedious War,
And far from Conqueft tixed out with Care,
How do our Women lead their Lives at Rome?
And are we thought on by our Wives at home?
Each speaks for his, each fays, I'll fwear for mine,
And thus a while they talkt, grown flusht with Wine;
At laft young Collatine tarts up and cries,
What need of words, come let's believe our Eyes;
Away to Rome, for that's the safest Course:
They all agree, fo each man mounts his Horse.
First to the Court, and there they found no Guard,
No Watchman there, and all the Gates unbarr'd;

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