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Here clouded canes 'midft heaps of toys are found,
And inlaid tweezer-cafes ftrow the ground.

There ftands the toilette, nursery of charms,
Completely furnish'd with bright beauty's arms;
The patch, the powder-box, pulville, perfumes,
Pins, paint, a flatt'ring glass, and black lead combs.
The toilfome hours in diff'rent labour flide,
Some work the file, and fome the graver guide;
From the loud anvil the quick blow rebounds,
And their rais'd arms defcend in tuneful founds.
Thus when Semiramis, in ancient days,
Bid Babylon her mighty bulwarks raise;
A fwarm of lab'rers diff'rent tasks attend:
Here pullies make the pond'rous oak afcend.
With echoing strokes the cragged quarry groans,
While there the chiffel forms the shapeless stones;
The weighty mallet deals refounding blows,
'Till the proud battlement her tow'rs enclose.

Now Venus mounts her car, fhe fhakes the reins,
And fteers her turtles to Cythera's plains;

Strait to the grot with graceful step she goes,
Her loose ambrofial hair behind her flows:
The fwelling bellows heave for breath no more,
All drop their filent hammers on the floor;
In deep fufpence the mighty labour stands,
While thus the goddess spoke her mild commands.
Industrious loves, your present toils forbear,
A more important task demands your care;

Long

Long has the scheme employ'd my thoughtful mind,
By judgment ripen'd, and by time refin’d.
That glorious bird, have ye not often feen,
Who draws the car of the celestial queen ?
Have ye not oft furvey'd his varying dyes,
His tail all gilded o'er with Argus' eyes?
Have ye not seen him in the funny day
Unfurl his plumes, and all his pride display,
Then fuddenly contract his dazzling train,
And with long-trailing feathers sweep the plain?
Learn from this hint, let this inftruct your art:
Thin taper fticks must from one center part:
Let these into the quadrant's form divide,
The spreading ribs with fnowy paper hide;
Here shall the pencil bid its colours flow,
And make a miniature creation grow.
Let the machine in equal foldings close,
And now its plaited furface wide dispose.
So fhall the fair her idle hand employ,
And grace each motion with the reftless toy,
With various play bid grateful zephyrs rise,
While love in ev'ry grateful zephyr flies.

The master Cupid traces out the lines,
And with judicious hand the draught defigns;
Th' expecting loves with joy the model view,
And the joint labour eagerly pursue.
Some flit their arrows with the niceft art,
And into sticks convert the fhiver'd dart;

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I

THE FA N.

By Mr. GAY. Book. I.

SING that graceful toy, whofe waving play
With gentle gales relieves the fultry day,
Not the wide fan by Perfian dames display'd,
Which o'er their beauty cafts a grateful shade ;
Nor that long known in China's artful land,
Which, while it cools the face, fatigues the hand:
Nor fhall the muse in Afian climates rove,
To seek in Indoftan some spicy grove,

Where ftretch'd at ease the panting lady lies,
To fhun the fervor of meridian skies,

While fweating flaves catch ev'ry breeze of air,
And with wide-spreading fans refresh the fair;
No bufy gnats her pleafing dreams moleft,
Inflame her cheek, or ravage o'er her breast.
But artificial zephyrs round her fly,

And mitigate the fever of the sky.

Stay, wand'ring muse, nor rove in foreign climes, To thy own native shore confine thy rhymes. Affift, ye nine, your loftieft notes employ, Say what celeftial skill contriv'd the toy; Say how this inftrument of love began,

And in immortal strains display the fan.

Strephon had long confefs'd his am'rous pain, Which gay Corinna rally'd with disdain :

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Sometimes in broken words he figh'd his care,

Look'd pale, and trembled when he view'd the fair;
With bolder freedoms now the youth advanc'd,
He drefs'd, he laugh'd, he sung, he rhym'd, he danc'd:
Now call'd more pow'rful prefents to his aid,
And, to feduce the mistress, brib'd the maid;
Smooth flatt'ry in her softer hours apply'd,
The fureft charm to bind the force of pride:
But ftill unmov'd remains the scornful dame,
Infults her captive, and derides his flame.
When Strephon faw his vows difpers'd in air,
He fought in folitude to lose his care;
Relief in folitude he fought in vain,

It ferv'd, like mufic, but to feed his pain.

To Venus now the flighted boy complains,

And calls the goddess in these tender strains.

O potent queen, from Neptune's empire sprung,
Whose glorious birth admiring Nereids fung,
Who 'midst the fragrant plains of Cyprus rove,
Whose radiant prefence gilds the Paphian grove,
Where to thy name a thousand altars rise,
And curling clouds of incenfe hide the skies:
O beauteous Goddefs, teach me how to move,
Infpire my tongue with eloquence of love.
If loft Adonis e'er thy bofom warm'd,

If e'er his eyes, or godlike figure charm'd,
Think on thofe hours when firft you felt the dart,
Think on the restless fever of thy heart;

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Think how you pin'd in absence of the fwain:

By thofe uneafy minutes know my pain.
Ev'n while Cydippe to Diana bows,

And at her shrine renews her virgin vows,

The lover, taught by thee, her pride o’ercame ;
She reads his oaths, and feels an equal flame :
Oh, may my flame, like thine, Acontius, prove,
May Venus dictate, and reward my love.
When crowds of fuitors Atalanta try'd,

She wealth, and beauty, wit and fame defy'd:
Each daring lover with advent'rous pace
Purfu'd his wishes in the dang'rous race;
Like the swift hind, the bounding damfel flies,
Strains to the goal, the distanc'd lover dies.
Hippomenes, O Venus, was thy care,

You taught the fwain to stay the flying fair,
Thy golden prefent caught the virgin's eyes,
She stoops; he rushes on, and gains the prize.
Say, Cyprian deity, what gift, what art,
Shall humble into love Corinna's heart;
If only some bright toy can charm her fight,
Teach me what present may suspend her flight.
Thus the desponding youth his flame declares,
The goddess with a nod his paffion hears.
Far in Cythera ftands a spacious grove,

Sacred to Venus and the God of love;

Here. the luxuriant myrtle rears her head;
Like the tall oak the fragrant branches spread;

Here

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