As when a cancer in the body feeds,

And gradual death from limb to limb proceeds; So does the chilnefs to each vital

part

Spread by degrees, and creeps into her heart;
'Till hard❜ning every where, and speechless grown,

She fits unmov'd, and freezes to a stone.
But ftill her envious hue and fullen mien
Are in the fedentary figure feen.

EUROPA'S Rape.

When now the God his fury had allay'd, And taken vengance of the stubborn maid, From where the bright Athenian turrets rife He mounts aloft, and re-afcends the skies. Jove faw him enter the fublime abodes,

And, as he mix'd among the croud of Gods, Beckon'd him out, and drew him from the reft, And in foft whispers thus his will exprest.

.

My trufty Hermes, by whofe ready aid

Thy fire's commands are thro' the world convey'd, "Refume thy wings, exert their utmost force, "And to the walls of Sidon speed thy course;

"There

"There find a herd of heifers wand'ring o'er

"The neighbouring hill, and drive 'em to the fhore.

Thus fpoke the God, concealing his intent. The trufty Hermes on his meffage went, And found the herd of heifers wand'ring o'er A neighb'ring hill, and drove 'em to the fhore; Where the King's daughter with a lovely train Of fellow-nymphs, was sporting on the plain. The dignity of empire laid afide,

(For love but ill agrees with kingly pride.) The ruler of the fkies, the thund'ring God,

Who fhakes the world's foundations with a nod,

Among a herd of lowing heifers ran,

Frisk'd in a bull, and bellow'd o'er the plain.

Large rolls of fat about his fhoulders clung,
And from his neck the double dewlap hung.
His fkin was whiter than the fnow that lies
Unfully'd by the breath of fouthern skies;
Small fhining horns on his curl'd forehead ftand,
As turn'd and polish'd by the workman's hand;

His eye-balls roll'd, not formidably bright,
But gaz'd and languish'd with a gentle light.
His every look was peaceful, and exprest

The foftness of the lover in the beast.

Agenor's royal daughter, as fhe play'd

Among the fields, the milk-white bull furvey'd, And view'd his fpotlefs body with delight,

And at a distance kept him in her fight.

At length she pluck'd the rising flow'rs, and fed
The gentle beast, and fondly strok'd his head.
He stood well-pleas'd to touch the charming fair,
But hardly could confine his pleasure there.
And now he wantons o'er the neighb'ring strand,
Now rolls his body on the yellow fand;

And now, perceiving all her fears decay'd,
Comes toffing forward to the royal maid;
Gives her his breast to stroke, and downward turns
His grifly brow, and gently stoops his horns.
In flow'ry wreaths the royal virgin drest

His bending horns, and kindly clapt his breast. 'Till now grown wanton, and devoid of fear, Not knowing that fhe preft the thunderer,

She

She plac'd herself upon his back, and rode O'er fields and meadows, feated on the God.

He gently march'd along, and by degrees Left the dry meadow, and approach'd the feas Where now he dips his hoofs, and wets his thighs, Now plunges in, and carries off the prize.

The frighted nymph looks backward on the shore,
And hears the tumbling billows round her roar,
But ftill he holds him faft: One hand is borne
Upon his back; the other grafps a horn:
Her train of ruffling garments flies behind,
Swells in the air, and hovers in the wind.
Through ftorms and tempefts he the virgin bore,
And lands her safe on the Dicean fhore;
Where now, in his divineft form array'd,
In his true shape he captivates the maid:
Who gazes on him, and with wondring eyes
Beholds the new majeftic figure rife,

His glowing features, and celeftial light,
And all the God discover'd to her fight.

WHE

He fent his fon to fearch on every coaft;

And fternly bid him to his arms restore

The darling maid, or fee his face no more.

But live an exile in a foreign clime;

Thus was the father pious to a crime.

The restless youth fearch'd all the world around,

But how can fove in his amours be found?

VOL. I.

When