Our heroine fear'd him not; it was her part To make sure conquest of such gentle heart - Of one so mild and humble; for she saw In Henry's eye a love chastised by awe. Her thoughts of virtue were not all sublime, Nor virtuous all her thoughts; 'twas now her time To bait each hook, in every way to please, And the rich prize with dext'rous hand to seize. She had no virgin-terrors; she could stray In all love's maze, nor fear to lose her way; Nay, could go near the precipiee, nor dread A failing caution or a giddy head; She'd fix her eyes upon the roaring flood, And dance upon the brink where danger stood. 'Twas nature all, she judged, in one so young, To drop the eye and falter in the tongue; To be about to take, and then command His daring wish, and only view the hand: Yes! all was nature; it became a maid Of gentle soul t'encourage love afraid; - He, so unlike the confident and bold, Would fly in mute despair to find her cold: The young and tender germ requires the sun To make it spread; it must be smiled upon. Thus the kind virgin gentle means devised, To gain a heart so fond, a hand so prized; More gentle still she grew, to change her way Would cause confusion, danger, and delay: Thus (an increase of gentleness her mode), She took a plain, unvaried, certain road, And every hour believed success was near, Till there was nothing left to hope or fear. It must be own'd that, in this strife of hearts, Man has advantage--has superior arts: The lover's aim is to the nymph unknown, Nor is she always certain of her own; Or has her fears, nor these can so disguise, But he who searches reads them in her eyes, In the avenging frown, in the regretting sighs: These are his signals, and he learns tb steer The straighter course whenever they appear. --------------------- "Pass we ten years, and what was Clelia's fate?" At an attorney's board alert she sate, Not legal mistress: he with other men Once sought her hand, but other views were then; And when he knew he might the bliss command, He other blessing sought without the hand; For still he felt alive the lambent flame, And offer'd her a home,--and home she came. There, though her higher friendships lived no more, She loved to speak of what she shared before - "Of the dear Lucy, heiress of the hall, - Of good Sir Peter,--of their annual ball, And the fair countess!--Oh! she loved them all!" The humbler clients of her friend would stare, The knowing smile,--but neither caused her care; She brought her spirits to her humble state, And soothed with idle dreams her frowning fate. ---------------------