NARCISSA AND ELIZA. A DRAMATIC TALE.
[Price One Shilling and Sixpence.]
This Day are published, SEJANUS, A TRAGEDY, altered from BEN JOHNSON; AND Religious and Political LIBERTY, An ORATION; By FRANCIS GENTLEMAN.
The Former printed for R. MANBY and H. S. COX, the Latter for J. BOUQUET.
Also this Day are published, A VOYAGE to the MOON, Translated from the French of BERGERAC: AND A RHAPSODY on FORTUNE, inscribed to Mr. GARRICK.
By SAMUEL DERRICK.
To be had of J. BOUQUET in PATER-NOSTER-ROW.
NARCISSA AND ELIZA. A DRAMATIC TALE.
By FRANCIS GENTLEMAN.
Wise Wretch! with Pleasures too refin'd to please,
With too much Spirit to be e'er at Ease;
With too much Quickness ever to be taught,
With too much Thinking to have common Thought;
You purchase Pain with all that Joy can give,
And die of Nothing but a Rage to live.
POPE.
LONDON: Printed for J. BOUQUET, at the WHITE-HART in PATER-NOSTER-ROW.
MDCCLIV.
Speedily will be published, CAMILLO: A DRAMATIC TALE In VERSE.
Wealth makes the Man, and Want of it the Fellow,
The Rest is all but Leather and Prunella.
POPE.
TO THE GREATEST COXCOMB AND MOST FINISH'D COQUETTE Living.
SIR and MADAM,
IT has long been, and still remains a settled Rule with AUTHORS, to chuse the most conspicuous Characters for Patrons; thus far I comply with general Custom, which, however ridiculous, it is dangerous to break through; as to the trite Panegyrics of Dedication, they seem absolutely unnecessary upon the present Occasion, for your Virtues,—Qualifications I mean, are so very generally known, that they require not any Illustration, being sufficient Blazon to themselves; therefore it will be sufficient to observe, that to your great Predecessors, the DRAMA is obliged for many of its most striking Characters. To you, and your courtly Tribe of Imitators, we stand indebted for the frequent, curious Amendments of FASHION, and Machinations of LOVE; also for OPERAS, BURLETTAS, MASQUERADES, PANTOMIMES, DRUMS, ROUTS, with a long &c. of Time-killing Amusements; and last, though not least in Love, for the following Tale founded on your Systems of Life, which Circumstance must particularly recommend it to your most indulgent Patronage.
[Page vi] 'TIS true I may appear in this Address as an INDIAN worshipping the Devil, however that may be, it will evidently follow from One Consideration, that I have an undoubted Right to claim your Patronage, when I declare that many Actions of my own Life have been truly Coxcomical, and perhaps not One of them more so than my Compliance with the Cacoethes Scribendi, which urged me to commence AUTHOR▪ especially a Poetical or Versifying One.
I am, with all due Respect, as a Writer, and sincere Affection, as Relation,
Your most obedient, And devoted Servant, The
AUTHOR.
I had almost dated this Address, April the First, but being sensible that it was giving the CRITICS a fair Opportunity to honour me with the Title of the Day, I step Four and Twenty Hours forward in the Year 1754.
ADVERTISEMENT TO THE PUBLIC.
KNOWING from personal Experience how apt prefatory Matter is to pall, I shall no farther intrude upon the Leisure of my Readers than briefly to observe, that the following Narration is founded on Truth; that it is related, exclusive of an Alteration in the Catastrophe of NARCISSA, with strict Fidelity. What Merit there may be in it, I shall leave the Public to decide; I am well apprized that the Characters will seem somewhat imperfect, particularly ELIZA, who does not appear sufficiently to constitute a Principal; but I hope to be excused any Error of this Kind, though voluntary, as I found Prolixity stealing in upon me, which I was resolved at any Rate to avoid.
I should perhaps have thrown the Incidents together in Prose, but that I think the Town already too much harrassed with MEMOIRS, ADVENTURES, &c. This is a Sort of Deviation, and I hope some Persons of stronger Genius than I imagine myself to be will communicate Pictures of Life in poetical Narratives.
Upon the Whole, as I know many Faults must appear, I earnestly request that every judicious Reader will make such Amendments as seem necessary, and render it, if possible, agreeable to his or her Taste, believing I should have done the same, had it been in my Power.
London,
April 2, 1754.
This Day are published, PROPOSALS FOR PRINTING by SUBSCRIPTION, A COLLECTION OF ORIGINAL POEMS. By SAMUEL DERRICK. WITH Several LETTERS Critical and Entertaining, TO and FROM the AUTHOR.
Ingenium Mala saepe movent.
OVID.
SUBSCRIPTIONS are taken in by R. MANBY on Ludgate-Hill, PAUL VAILLANT in the Strand, H. S. Cox and J. BOUQUET in Pater-Noster-Row, and B. BOURN under the Royal-Exchange, Booksellers; J. BROOKE in Change-Alley, and by the AUTHOR.
CONDITIONS.
- I. THAT the Work shall be put to the Press as soon as two Hundred are subscribed for.
- II. That it shall be printed off with all Expedition afterwards, on superfine Paper and an elegant Letter.
- III. The Price to Subscribers will be Six Shillings; Three to be paid at the Time of subscribing, and Three on the Delivery of the Work, in one Octavo Volume, stitch'd in Blue Paper.
- IV. The Subscribers Names to be printed, as Encouragers of the Work.
- V. A few will be printed off, for the Curious, on Royal Paper, and delivered neatly Bound, at Ten Shillings and Six-Pence Each, Five Shillings to be paid on subscribing.
- VI. The Price will be rais'd to those who don't subscribe.
NARCISSA AND ELIZA.
INDULGENT Muse, to whom my Soul repairs,
As gentle Antidote of all its Cares;
Thou calm Recess of an o'erburthen'd Mind,
The Chains of rough Adversity unbind.
Then to forget myself I ask thy Aid,
Oh! snatch me from the Gloom of Fortune's Shade;
For tender Fancy struggles hard to rise,
Through the sharp Gales and Frosts of wint'ry Skies,
Bear from dull Earth on thy expanded Wing,
And teach thy humble Proselyte to sing;
[Page 2] With sprightly Elegance of Thought inspire,
Enflame my Bosom with poetic Fire,
Strike with bold Imag'ry, and tune my Verse,
While fabled Truths a moral Tale rehearse.
ANSELMO wearied with a trading Life,
Resolv'd to fly Solicitude and Strife;
To lay the anxious Cares of Business down,
And shun the Bustle of the noisy Town.
Nature had mingled in ANSELMO'S Frame,
A Love of Virtue, and Contempt of Fame;
Grave without Pride, though prudent, not severe,
Of Honour boundless, and of Judgment clear;
To Censure slow, to Pardon always free,
The Friend of Mankind, and of Liberty:
Who could, with equal Honesty, despise
The Fools of Pow'r, or the corrupted Wise;
A venal Commoner, or lordly Knave,
A mitred Deist, or a willing Slave.
[Page 3] A grapling Miser, or a Spendthrift Heir,
An impious Rake-hell, or abandon'd Fair,
A shameless Sinner, or affected Saint,
A Mind of Fallacy, or Face of Paint.
FORTUNE had bless'd him with sufficient Store,
And REASON wisely told him, seek no more.
HE chose a lonely, yet delightful Seat,
Where ev'ry Comfort crown'd the bless'd Retreat;
Where Joys, unknown to pompous Pride and Pow'r,
Danc'd on the Wings of ev'ry passing Hour.
Content, the Goddess of supreme Delight,
Still cheer'd the Day, and balm'd the happy Night.
Here safe calm Peace could smile at distant Wars,
The Cannon's Thunder and loud Statesmen's Jars.
Religion here divested of all Art,
Conjoin'd with Reason to amend the Heart,
Just in her Tenets, in her Doctrine clear,
Placid in Zeal, not formally severe.
HERE Charity, in all her native Charms,
Call'd faint Distress to her enliv'ning Arms;
Dispers'd the Cloud of Woe with sun-like Beams,
And scatter'd Bounty in diffusive Streams.
No Widow here, e'er bootless told her Pain,
No helpless Orphan stream'd with Tears in vain.
ANSELMO had but one remaining Care,
Of which two Daughters claim'd an equal Share,
The Elder deem'd beyond Description fair.
NARCISSA, so the lovely Nymph we call,
In Shape was delicate, in Stature tall;
Her blooming Cheeks made pale the Tyrian Dye,
And Cupids ambush'd in each sparkling Eye;
With ev'ry Glance flew forth a golden Dart,
The certain Conquest of a wounded Heart.
Her Charms diffus'd a World of pleasing Pains,
And fetter'd, half Mankind in am'rous Chains.
[Page 5] Each public Place re-echo'd with her Fame,
And thriving Vintners bless'd her lucky Name;
For Sons of Bacchus holding her Divine,
Pouring Libations, empti'd Tons of Wine.
To shew his Taste in panegyric Lays;
Each Witling strove to celebrate her Praise.
BEAUS with their Taylors', and their Barbers' Aid,
For Beaus are but mechanically made;
In foppish Emulation vainly strove,
To catch the Fair One's Eye, and win her Love.
While she convinc'd of her extensive Pow'r,
Studied to gain new Conquests ev'ry Hour.
A Thousand little practis'd Arts she tries;
CUPID the PROTEUS of her varying Eyes,
Veil'd in the Ambush of their dazling Rays,
Fill'd each Beholder with an am'rous blaze,
While she with Pride beheld each subject Swain,
With Rapture saw, and triumph'd in his Pain.
PALE Envy sat on ev'ry Female Brow,
To see those Charms which Envy must allow,
NARCISSA'S Beauty Rivals
would not see,
But thus anatomiz'd her over Tea.
HERE One can plainly in Complexion trace,
Undoubted Symptons of a borrow'd Face;
The next a Dart of Criticism throws,
Against the Disproportion of her Nose;
A Third's sarcastic on her jetty Hair,
A Fourth discovers her immodest Stare;
A Fifth, for not one Atom can escape,
Distorts maliciously her matchless Shape;
A Sixth, to sum up all, with Heart elate
Descants at large upon her awkward Gait.
THUS feeble Envy like a sable Cloud,
Which strives the Sun's enliv'ning Rays to shrowd
Labour'd t'envelop with its tainting Shade,
The radiant Beauties of this lovely Maid;
[Page 7] But as the God of Day triumphant reigns,
His Beams unsullied with polluting Stains,
Thus shone the Maid through Scandal's pois'nous Gloom,
In all the Lustre of Meridian Bloom;
Though clog'd with Malice, still she soar'd above,
Hail'd as the Shrine of universal Love.
No Wonder, if NARCISSA forc'd to leave,
The Mart of Beauty, should reluctant grieve;
To yield the Spoil of Three coquetted Years,
Call'd forth the Tribute of some pearly Tears.
She wept, she murmur'd at the hard Decree,
So inconsistent with her Gaiety:
She found no Pleasure in the rural Plains;
Reflection suited not her want of Brains;
For oh!—though sad the Truth we must declare,
This lovely Maid so exquisitely fair;
Whose sparkling Eyes could Joy, or Pain dispense,
Wanted the Attribute of
Common-Sense;
[Page 8] And self-sufficient, like all other Fools,
Still soar'd beyond the mean constraint of Rules.
Reason's sage dictates still she could resist,
And just had Head enough to play at WHIST.
ANSELMO saw her Levity with Pain,
And often spoke, but always spoke in vain.
She had been told a Sire declin'd in Age,
Near to his Exit from this mortal Stage;
Should not with antiquated Rules controul,
The modish Sallies of a Daughter's Soul.
The Joys of boundless Liberty she chose,
And look'd on
prudent Friends, as
envious Foes:
A Father's Care, her Folly deem'd his Vice,
And call'd restraining Love his Avarice.
ELIZA, Sister to this witless Thing,
This flimsey Butterfly with gilded Wing,
Fell far beneath in the external Part,
Yet rose superior in an honest Heart.
THOUGH Nature furnish'd not those fleeting Charms,
Which Sickness oft, but surely Age disarms;
Those Eye-delighting Beauties of an Hour,
Which one rough Blast can instantly devour;
A Mind, to no unruly Passion, Slave,
The great, and just Equivalent she gave.
IN strict Compliance did ELIZA move,
With filial Piety, and kindred Love;
Though youngest, took a Housewife's homely Care,
Nor would her Sister ever deign to share:
Receiv'd her Father's Precepts, as her Guide,
And prudently a Mother's Place supply'd.
Domestics, with her mild Deportment won,
With Emulation to their Duty run;
The humble Villagers who liv'd around,
From her good Humour gentle Treatment found.
With chearful Countenance she would resort,
To rural Festivals, and share their Sport;
And sometimes gaily join, as if by Chance,
In the rude Measures of the rustic Dance:
[Page 10] While vain NARCISSA, with disdainful Brow,
From Pride's high Throne o'erlook'd the poor below.
SCARCE had ANSELMO been three Months at Rest,
Three little Months with Solitude been bless'd,
When this unthinking Object of his Love,
Tormented her fond Parent to remove;
To quit the Country for the gayer Town,
Where various Pleasures, various Minutes crown,
Where, as she said, there are a thousand Ways,
As Drums and Balls, and Masquerades and Plays,
To plume with Joy the drooping Wings of Time,
And waft direct to Happiness sublime.
"THOU know'st my Child, replies the tender Sire,
"I still have gratifi'd each fond Desire,
"Review thy scanty Catalogue of Years,
"Behold my Tenderness, my anxious Fears;
"When did'st thou task my utmost Pow'r in vain?
"Did'st thou e'er singly feel, or Joy, or Pain?
[Page 11] "Why wou'd'st thou then a wish'd Repose deny,
"To see a Father happy, dost thou sigh?
"Why sits that moody Frontlet on thy Brow?
"Does Gratitude thy Discontent allow?
"Think, my NARCISSA, of thy wild Demand,
"Nor seek for Ruin at ANSELMO'S Hand:
"If my Indulgence let thy Spirits roam,
"Discretion urges me to call 'em Home.
"LIFE Nature's turbulent and dang'rous Sea,
"Is form'd of complicate Variety;
"Here wanton Sun-Beams on smooth Waters play,
"And all within the calm Horizon's Gay:
"But farther on a furious Tempest roars,
"While wat'ry Mountains burst on trembling Shores;
"Ten Thousand Shoals and Rocks, in Ambush wait,
"The secret, sudden Ministers of Fate.
"Youth's fragile Barks with silken Tackle Ride,
"On the smooth Stream of Folly's faithless Tide;
"Unnumber'd Prospects of Delusion Glare,
"Which lead into the Eddies of Despair;
[Page 12] "Vice guiding rash Adventurers along,
"To Fate allures them with her Syren Song;
"Experience only can through Dangers steer,
"And wisely with the Turns of Fortune veer;
"Then slight not the Affection that wou'd save,
"Thy tender Youth from Fate's o'erwhelming Wave."
ANSELMO here gave Admonition o'er,
NARCISSA wearied, long had Wish no more.
Her flighty Soul cou'd modishly despise,
The prudent Hints of being sometimes Wise;
And all the Knowledge, which her Father taught,
A tedious, tasteless Homily she thought.
Not long she griev'd at her eclipsing State,
Her Freedom came upon the Wing of Fate;
For Six revolving Moons had scarcely past,
Before the good ANSELMO breath'd his last.
In a malignant Fever's deadly Guise,
Pale ATROPOS seal'd up her Father's Eyes.
WHILE on the Bed of gloomy Death he lay,
In all the Agony of swift Decay;
His Eyes o'erflowing with Affection's Tide,
To see his Daughters mourning by his Side;
He snatch'd from vast Eternity and Prayer,
A few short Moments for his worldly Care;
Spoke all the Precepts of a happy Life,
Adapted to the Maiden and the Wife;
And recommended with his dying Voice,
Untainted Virtue as the wisest Choice;
A strict Compliance with her Laws requir'd,
Then sunk at once, and blessing them expir'd.
THIS fatal Chance, this unexpected Dart,
Shot Pains unnumber'd through ELIZA'S Heart;
Her Breast full fraught with Love's abundant Store,
In bursting Groans re-eccho'd, "He's no mre.
"Ye Nymphs and Swains in solemn Chorus join,
"And let your Voices catch the Tone of mine;
"Let me, depriv'd of Comfort's cheering Beam,
"Let me instruct your pious Eyes to stream;
[Page 14] "For none like me the mighty Loss can tell,
"How many Virtues with ANSELMO fell:
"Weep, weep, ye Indigent, your Bosoms rend,
"Like me you've lost a Father and a Friend."
In such sad Wailings, her Affection spoke
Her filial Sorrow for the fatal Stroke.
NARCISSA, marble-hearted to all Woe,
But such as could from Disappointment flow;
She, who had never minister'd Relief,
Who ne'er was gloom'd, but with a selfish Grief;
Ev'n she vouchsaf'd some pious Tears to shed,
Nature's last Tribute to a Parent dead.
But soon the Cloud of fleeting Care gave Way,
When sigh'd for Pleasures beam'd their dazling Ray;
Fresh Conquests danc'd before her raptur'd View,
She long'd her lost Dominion to renew;
And Fortune join'd with Inclination here,
To give that Liberty she held so dear;
For upon Fate's unalterable Page,
She stood recorded of a legal Age.
[Page 15] No Guardian's sage Impertinence she fears,
To rule the Conduct of Discretion's Years,
And on a careful Scrutiny she found,
Her Portion counted twice ten thousand Pound.
WING'D with the Gold, she took a sudden Flight,
And quickly gain'd the Region of Delight;
LONDON, dear LONDON, that bewitching Place,
That happy Market for a lovely Face;
LONDON, the Seat of Industry and Play,
LONDON, the great, the populous and gay;
LONDON possess'd of Worthies, and of Knaves,
Of ev'ry Clime, and each Degree, but Slaves;
LONDON, where Trade, and lighter Pleasures smile,
LONDON, the Pride, the Glory of this Isle.
NARCISSA bless'd with absolute Command,
Sets up an Equipage with lavish Hand;
Her Splendour more than former Fame restores,
Each Milliner admires, each Fop adores.
[Page 16] The brilliant Fair, all Connoisseurs confess,
The Soul of Fashion, and the Life of Dress.
Two Years a Life of Elegance she led,
Pass'd Nights in Revelry, and Days in Bed;
Suitors unnumber'd pleaded Love sincere,
But none with Titles, suited to her Ear;
She thought her boundless Charms might justly claim,
Some honourable prelude to her Name;
Your Ladyship.—"No, no, a higher Place,
"Hail me kind Fortune with the Title,
Grace."
This was the constant Subject of her Care,
Her sole remaining Wish and only Pray'r.
For though she went to Church each Sabbath Day,
Her Business was to Ogle not to Pray.
AT length Fate join'd to her admiring Train,
The wish'd for Conquest of a lorded Swain;
The gay CAMILLO; Master of those Arts,
Which serve to triumph o'er coquetish Hearts;
Who though in
Parliament he always sate,
A perfect Monosyllable of State;
[Page 17] In Politics a very harmless Peer,
In Love still thunder'd on with bold Career;
Through each Degree of Galantry he rov'd,
And now a Countess, then a Milk-Maid lov'd:
With equal Ardour flew at any Game,
For high and low possess'd an equal Flame.
While Fortune still, throughout his am'rous Round,
The noble Peer with countless Conquests crown'd.
Nor should we wonder at his boundless Reign,
No less his happy Attributes cou'd gain;
For though the Knowledge of this titled Prig,
Could climb but to a fashionable Wig;
Though Books he little knew, and Virtue less;
He was an Adept in the Art of Dress;
His Cloaths were glaring; he could dance and game,
Swear, fawn, and lie, untouch'd with conscious Shame;
To these, a paltry Cunning we may add,
Which shew'd a worthless Head, and Heart as bad.
HE saw the Failings of NARCISSA'S Mind,
To all the Dictates of Discretion, blind;
[Page 18] At Cards he watch'd the Motions of her Soul,
And saw her variegated Passions roll;
Saw gay Success her lovely Face embloom,
And Disappointment all her Beauties gloom;
With Love of Play he join'd her boundless Pride,
And craftily appointed them his Guide;
By their Assistance he resolv'd to move,
And humble this proud Citadel of Love.
HIS Scheme propos'd, at length the Siege began;
The Lady too had form'd a previous Plan;
And all the Motions of each Side confess,
Both Parties well acquainted with Finesse.
He still approached in Love's sincerest 'Guise,
She play'd th'Artillery of sparkling Eyes;
He breath'd his Vows with a pathetic Grace,
She deign'd to listen with a smiling Face;
And then was most particularly gay,
When he politely lost his Stakes at Play.
Much Time elaps'd without a Conquest gain'd,
For both alike invincible remain'd;
[Page 19] NARCISSA would have yielded as a Wife,
But then CAMILLO lov'd a single Life.
WHILE Matters thus remain'd in dubious Sense,
And both were almost wearied with Suspense;
Misfortune, which too often will prevail,
Cast a large Balance in his Lordship's Scale.
NARCISSSA rising from her Bed one Morn,
Gay as those Beams which Eastern Hills adorn;
Successive Pleasures justling in her Brain,
Found the gay Prospect of Idea vain;
And with a sudden Shock of ruthless Fate,
Fell from the Glory of her dazling Height.
A LETTER came, suppos'd the Sacrifise,
Of some poor Swain, the Captive of her Eyes.
She cry'd,—A
Lady FANCIFUL in Mind,—
"Oh wherefore was I born to plague Mankind."
With gentle Indolence she broke the Seal,
Unknowing what her Vanity must feel;
[Page 20] When lo! in fatal Characters she read,
That Bankrupt PHILO, her Trustee, was fled;
That with her Fortune all her Hopes were dead.
AMAZE and Madness trembled in her Face,
And crowding Passions gave each other Chace;
First silent Horror took its chilly Reign,
And icicled her Blood through ev'ry Vein;
Her shudd'ring Limbs an aguish Soul confess'd,
Then climbing Rage enflam'd her tender Breast;
At last the Thunder-cloud of Nature breaks,
In briny Torrents down her pallid Cheeks.
In hopes to mitigate her raging Pain,
At Intervals she read her Fate again;
But where th'unhappy Fair One sought Relief,
She met the Confirmation of her Grief.
Four restless Days and sleepless Nights she pass'd,
And wish'd each Woe fraught Minute was her last.
A CROWD of Visitors approach'd her Door,
Yet unacquainted with her being Poor;
[Page 21] But all the Servants were desir'd to tell,
Each courtly Friend, their Lady was not well;
A Thousand Cards of Compliments there came,
In Language and Sincerity the same.
Perplex'd NARCISSA no Asylum knew,
Through the maz'd Labyrinth of Thought she flew;
But no kind Hope its cheering Beam wou'd shew,
Through the Dark Cloud of her obscuring Woe.
THUS hunted by Misfortune to a Bay,
Distraction led, and she pursu'd the Way;
Resolv'd by des'prate Means to keep her State,
Or fall a Victim of relentless Fate.
So acts the lordly Tyrant of the Wood,
When Hunters seek to revel in his Blood,
A dangerous, unequal Fight he tries,
And lives triumphant, or triumphant dies.
THE fair unfortunate her Stock look'd o'er,
And found two hundred Guineas all her Store;
[Page 22] On this small Pittance strait she sallied out,
With eager Haste to Lady GAMEWELL'S Route;
In all the Splendor of an Eastern Bride,
And her false Spirits deck'd in falser Pride.
Each told how much her Absence had been mourn'd,
And complimented on her Health return'd;
But above all CAMILLO vow'd his Pain,
And said that Joy return'd with her again.
To Cards in Parties all with Speed retir'd,
Each Bosom with a Love of Gain inspir'd;
Here eager Hope appears in eager Eyes;
See, in one Trick the gay Delusion flies.
There angry Looks dark Discontent betray,
One luckless Card can strike with pale Dismay.
Now some with jocund Hearts their Bets receive,
While those who lose, with trembling Fingers give.
A gen'ral Silence rul'd external Parts,
Yet various Tumults reign'd in various Hearts.
FORTUNE reviews their anxious Fears and Wiles,
And justly at the mad Assembly smiles.
Yet undetermin'd where Success to bring,
Sometime she flutter'd on a dubious Wing;
At length by Accident she chanc'd to light,
Blessing NARCISSA with a golden Flight.
Five Hundred Guineas with harmonious Notes,
Beyond the Warblings of Italian Throats,
Chink'd in her Ears, and to th'enliv'ning Sound
Her new-born Spirits beat a nimble Round;
Her Joy-fill'd Eyes look'd eminently gay,
And though unrested, rival'd rising Day.
CAMILLO saw the Transports of her Breast,
And with mean Art a Sympathy profess'd;
Swore
her Success much greater Pleasure gave,
Than any Flow of Fortune
he cou'd have;
Vow'd her Content superior to his own,
And that her Joys to him were Joys alone;
Then proudly usher'd the victorious Fair,
And led the Way to her attending Chair.
[Page 24] Requested Leave to visit her at Home,
She smil'd Assent, and told him, "He might come."
Now all departing to their Beds retreated,
Both those with Conquest crown'd, and those defeated;
But diff'rent Fortunes, diff'rent Vigils kept,
And hardly one of either Party slept.
Here Rest was murder'd in the Loser's Pain,
There conquer'd by exhilerating Gain.
TRUE to the Touch, that Day his Lordship came,
To paint his inextinguishable Flame;
NARCISSA on precarious Footing plac'd,
Thought it imprudent to be coyly c h ste,
Therefore politically cast aside,
Affected Levity and distant Pride.
Therefore with grave Attention heard his Tale,
Convinc'd her Eyes must certainly prevail;
Convinc'd, the Lover to escape his Pains,
Wou'd nooze himself in matrimonial Chains,
[Page 25] Each Day he visited, each Day she thought
The Period of Advancement nearer brought;
But, ah! weak Maid, in all her Projects vain,
Love struck her Heart, without a Sense of Pain;
Love of the gay Deceiver gently stole,
And unperceiv'd enthrall'd her roving Soul;
The Sigh affected once, sincerely heaves,
CAMILLO flatters, and NARCISSA b'lieves.
WHEN he beheld the Captive in his Pow'r,
He villainously seiz'd a pliant Hour;
When pow'rful Nature bore imperial Sway,
And her dilated Mind was freely gay:
Then with the Force of stimulative Art,
Enfeebl'd Reason, and enflam'd her Heart;
Down, with false Vows, her struggling Virtue bore,
Enjoy'd his utmost Wish, and sigh'd no more.
Then left her hastily with cold Respect,
LOTHARIO like, at leisure to reflect.
THIS was NARCISSA'S Aera of Distress,
Her little Comfort grew each Moment less;
Tortur'd with Love and disappointed Hope,
She gave the Fury of her Madness Scope;
Wild as a Tempest of the North she rav'd,
And from avenging Heav'n Assistance crav'd.
While her Gallant divulg'd to babbling Fame,
The Secret of
his Villainy,—
her Shame.
His dauntless Infamy Remorse defies,
And the black Tale on blacker Scandal flies;
In one short Day through Thousands swiftly goes,
A standing Jest for Prudes, Coquets and Beaus;
Hastes to the Knowledge of the Grub-street Throng,
And strait becomes the Subject of a Song.
THUS the bewitching, but uncautious Maid,
By Fortune and by Fallacy betray'd;
Rent with the Rage of agonizing Thought,
When past the Nine Days' Wonder of her Fault;
[Page 27] Was metamorphos'd, as by magic Spell,
And to the Shade of dark Oblivion fell▪
APPROACHING Penury again assail'd,
Which with lost Fame o'er Penitence prevail'd;
Another Lover she at length obtain'd,
And he too shortly all his Wishes gain'd;
Then soon revolted from her fading Charms,
And left for others, her incircling Arms:
A Third, a Fourth succeeded, and were blest,
But each one prov'd inconstant as the rest.
Thus half a Bedlamite through Shame she ran,
The justly irritated Foe of Man;
To Vice a Captive, and afraid to think,
Took the sad Refuge of oblivious Drink:
In Bacchanalian Chains her Reason bound,
Thus seal'd her Ruin, thus Destruction crown'd;
For soon her blooming Beauty felt Decay,
And with her Charms Subsistence drop'd away;
[Page 28] Yet to the last her Follies she pursu'd,
Till dreaded Poverty at length ensu'd;
Till she was plac'd by Fate's relentless Power,
Where human Wretchedness cou'd fall no lower.
PROSPERITY here turn thy sparkling Eye,
And view the Ravage of Adversity;
See Desolation spread o'er ev'ry Part,
Glare in her Eyes, and rankle in her Heart.
See those soft Limbs which in full Fortune wore,
The richest Produce of each trading Shore;
For Maintenance their gaudy Rayment fold,
[...] now, and shiv'ring with the Cold.
[...] that nice Palate with rich Viands fed,
Enjoy the simple Sustenance of Bread;
With no Dilution to imbibe when dry,
But such as Springs and friendly Streams supply;
See her beneath a dropping Penthouse creep,
There in sad Exigence behold her sleep;
[Page 29] A damp, uncomfortable Stone her Bed,
And the rude Pillow of her houseless Head.
That Soul, which lightest Trifles cou'd affright,
Sleeps in the Horrors of a Winter's Night.
Though Hurricanes the Face of Heav'n deform,
Sleeps in the Tumult of the raging Storm.
TELL thy gay Minions of their empty Pride,
Borne on the Waves of Fortune's golden Tide.
How near Mortality's allied to Woe,
In the sad Prospect of NARCISSA shew.
See that wreck'd Form so late admir'd by all,
See her Distress, and tremble at her fall.
ELIZA, whom we have so long forgot,
On Life's vast Stage had found a milder Lot,
We meet her settled in a rural Life,
A tender Mother and a prudent Wife.
Though she too lost her patrimonial Right,
Discretion guarded her 'gainst Fortune's Spite;
[Page 30] For by the Help of Industry she gain'd,
A Mansion where Contentment ever reign'd;
Where Neatness shone, beyond a splendid Glare,
And void of Grandeur, it was void of Care.
NARCISSA'S stubborn Pride, though fall'n so low,
Disdain'd to let her tender Sister know
The tragic Story of her matchless Woe.
OFT' had ELIZA wrote, but still in vain,
Her Love could never friendly Answer gain;
Remov'd from Town, she knew not what had past,
But the sad Tidings reach'd her Ears at last.
Wing'd on Affection swift as fleeting Thought,
To Town she flew, and poor NARCISSA sought.
From Street to Street incessantly she went,
Yet a long Week in fruitless Searches spent;
At length the Object of her Care she found,
In wretched State upon the flinty Ground;
[Page 31] Struck with the Sight, immoveable she stood,
While Horror, Shame and Anguish, thrill'd her Blood.
Soon as Speech triumph'd o'er the Bonds of Grief,
Look up, she cried, "I come to give Relief,
"Come, wretched Sister, from the Earth arise,",
At this NARCISSA rais'd her languid Eyes;
Drop'd a few silent Tears, let fall her Head,
While in a Sigh her shatter'd Spirit fled.
ELIZA thought 'twas only Strength that fail'd,
She knew not that tyrannic Death prevail'd;
But soon was told that his unerring Dart
Had pierc'd incurably her Sister's Heart.
Convinc'd no Care, no human Pow'r cou'd save,
With pious Tears she wet NARCISSA'S Grave;
Then hasted homeward to her humble Seat,
To taste the Comforts of her calm Retreat
There still remains contented there to live,
On those Enjoyments Heav'n is pleas'd to give;
[Page 32] Nor does her humble Gratitude aspire,
And cultivate irregular Desire;
No idle Wishes envious Poison mix,
Unmov'd she views a Neighbour's
Coach-and-Six.
BEHOLD her, ye NARCISSAS of the Age,
Who gayly flutter on Life's transient Stage;
To imitate her Virtues be your Care,
Prefer a perfect Mind to Grandeur's Glare,
For she that's
best is Fairest of the Fair.
FINIS.