[Page 158]

On Two Young Ladies leaving the Country.

1 SAY, lovely Nymphs! who fly from rural Sweets,
2 To noisy Crowds, thick Air, and smoaky Streets,
3 Do Balls, or Plays, your graceful Steps invite?
4 Can Balls, or Plays, like Richmond Groves, delight?
5 No tuneful PHILOMEL, in Town, complains,
6 To charm your list'ning Ear with vary'd Strains;
7 No fragrant Gales refresh the sick'ning Fields,
8 No chearful flow'ry Scenes the City yields:
9 But Mists, and lambent Fogs, where-e'er you pass,
10 Shall cloud the Graces, that adorn your Face;
11 While those bright Eyes, like sully'd Gems, appear,
12 Or Stars, just glimm'ring thro' the dusky Air.
[Page 159]
13 NOR will you only Change of Beauty find;
14 Illusive Scenes will mock your pensive Mind:
15 In cloudless Mornings, when you've drank your Tea,
16 And read a Page in SHERLOCK, or in — GAY;
17 Perhaps your Thoughts, transported, here may rove,
18 And, to your Mind, present the blissful Grove:
19 You'll think to walk by silver Thames's Shore;
20 Or trace the verdant Mead, as heretofore:
21 When at the Door, the rural Vision flies;
22 Smoak, Coaches, Fops, and Carmen meet your Eyes:
23 Straight back you'll turn, vex'd with the fruitless Search;
24 Bid
* The Footman.
ROBERT call a Chair, and go to Church.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): On Two Young Ladies leaving the Country.
Author: Stephen Duck
Themes: nature
Genres: heroic couplet; occasional poem

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Source edition

Duck, Stephen, 1705-1756. Poems on several occasions: By Stephen Duck. London: printed for the author, 1736, pp. 158-159. xl,334,[2]p. ; 4⁰. (ESTC T90234; OTA K073280.000)

Editorial principles

The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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