But should

VII.

you catch the prudish itch,

And each become a coward,

Bring sometimes with you lady Rich,

And sometimes mistress Howard; For virgins to keep chaste must go Abroad with such as are not so. With a fa, la, la.

VIII.

And thus, fair maids, my

ballad ends;

God send the king safe landing*; And make all honest ladies friends To armies that are standing; Preserve the limits of these nations, And take off ladies' limitations.

With a fa, la, la.

This Ballad was written anno 1717.

THE THREE GENTLE SHEPHERDS.

Or gentle Philips will I ever sing, With gentle Philips shall the valleys ring. My numbers too for ever will I vary, With gentle Budgell, and with gentle Carey. Or if in ranging of the names I judge ill, With gentle Carey and with gentle Budgell, Oh! may all gentle bards together place ye, Men of good hearts, and men of delicacy. May satire ne'er befool ye, or beknave ye, And from all wits that have a knack, God save ye,

MR. POPE'S WELCOME FROM GREECE.

A Copy of Verses, written by MR. GAY upon MR. POPE'S having finished his Translation of HOMER'S ILIAD.

I.

LONG hast thou, friend! been absent from thy soil,

Like patient Ithacus at siege of Troy ;

I have been witness of thy six years' toil,

Thy daily labours, and thy night's annoy, Lost to thy native land, with great turmoil,

On the wide sea, oft threat'ning to destroy: Methinks with thee I've trod Sigæan ground, And heard the shores of Hellespont resound.

II.

5

Did I not see thee when thou first sett'st sail
To seek adventures fair in Homer's land?

10

Did I not see thy sinking spirits fail,

And wish thy bark had never left the strand?

Ev'n in mid ocean often didst thou quail,

And oft lift up thy holy eye and hand, Praying the Virgin dear, and saintly choir, Back to the port to bring thy bark entire.

III.

Cheer up, my friend, thy dangers now are o'er;
Methinks-nay, sure the rising coasts appear;
Hark how the guns salute from either shore,

As thy trim vessel cuts the Thames so fair:

15

20

Shouts answ'ring shouts, from Kent and Essex roar,
And bells break loud thro' every gust of air:
Bonfires do blaze, and bones and cleavers ring,
As at the coming of some mighty king.

IV.

Now pass we Gravesend with a friendly wind, 25
And Tilbury's white fort, and long Blackwall;
Greenwich, where dwells the friend of human kind,
More visited than either park or hall,
Withers the good, and (with him ever join'd)
Facetious Disney, greet thee first of all:

I see his chimney smoke, and hear him say,
Duke! that's the room for Pope, and that for Gay.

V.

Come in, my friends, here shall ye dine and lie,
And here shall breakfast, and here dine again;
And sup, and breakfast on (if ye comply),

For I have still some dozens of champaign :
His voice still lessens as the ship sails by ;

He waves his hand to bring us back in vain; For now I see proud London's spires; Greenwich is lost, and Deptford dock retires.

VI.

Oh, what a concourse swarms on yonder key!
The sky re-echoes with new shouts of joy:
By all this show, I ween, 'tis Lord May'rs day;
I hear the voice of trumpet and hautboy.--

30

35

40

45

No, now I see them near-oh, these are they
Who come in crowds to welcome thee from Troy.

Hail to the bard whom long as lost we mourn'd,
From siege, from battle, and from storm, return'd!
VII.

Of goodly dames, and courteous knights, I view
The silken petticoat, and broider'd vest;
Yea, Peers, and mighty Dukes, with ribands blue
(True blue, fair emblem of unstained breast).
Others I see, as noble, and more true,

By no court-badge distinguish'd from the rest:
First see I Methuen, of sincerest mind,
As Arthur grave, as soft as woman kind.

VIII.

50

55

60

What lady's that, to whom he gently bends?
Who knows not her? ah! those are Wortley's eyes,
How art thou honour'd, number'd with her friends:
For she distinguishes the good and wise.
The sweet-tongu'd Murray near her side attends.
Now to my heart the glance of Howard flies;
Now Harvey, fair of face, I mark full well,
With thee, youth's youngest daughter, sweet Lepell.

IX.

I see two lovely sisters, hand in hand,

The fair-hair'd Martha, and Teresa brown;

Madge Bellenden, the tallest of the land;

And smiling Mary, soft and fair as down.

NOTES.

65

Ver. 57. As Arthur grave, &c.] This person is mentioned in the Epistle to Arbuthnot, v. 23:

"Arthur whose giddy son neglects the laws,

Imputes to me, and my damn'd works, the cause!"

Ver. 62. The sweet-tongu'd Murray,] The present Lord Mansfield.