[Page 25]
On Miss * * * *.
ODE X.
I.
1 LONG, with undistinguish'd flame,
2 I lov'd each fair, each witty dame,
3 My heart the belle-assembly gain'd,
4 And all an equal sway maintain'd.
II.
5 But when you came, you stood confess'd
6 Sole sultana of my breast;
7 For you eclips'd, supremely fair,
8 All the whole seraglio there.
III.
9 In this her mien, in that her grace,
10 In a third I lov'd a face;
11 But you in ev'ry feature shine
12 Universally divine.
IV.
13 What can those tumid paps excel,
14 Do they sink, or do they swell?
15 While those lovely wanton eyes
16 Sparkling meet them, as they rise.
V.
17 Thus is silver Cynthia seen,
18 Glistening o'er the glassy green.
[Page 26]19 While attracted swell the waves,
20 Emerging from their inmost caves.
VI.
21 When to sweet sounds your steps you suit,
22 And weave the minuet to the lute,
23 Heav'ns! how you glide! — her neck — her chest —
24 Does she move, or does she rest?
VII.
25 As those roguish eyes advance,
26 Let me catch their side-long glance,
27 Soon — or they'll elude my sight,
28 Quick as light'ning, and as bright.
VIII.
29 Thus the bashful Pleiad cheats
30 The gazer's eye, and still retreats,
31 Then peeps agen — then skulks unseen,
32 Veil'd behind the azure skreen.
IX.
33 Like the ever-toying dove,
34 Smile immensity of love;
35 Be Venus in each outward part,
36 And wear the vestal in your heart.
X.
37 When I ask a kiss, or so —
38 Grant it with a begging no,
39 And let each rose that decks your face
40 Blush assent to my embrace.
Source edition
Smart, Christopher, 1722-1771. Poems on several occasions: By Christopher Smart, A. M. Fellow of Pembroke-Hall, Cambridge. London: printed for the author, by W. Strahan; and sold by J. Newbery, at the Bible and Sun, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, MDCCLII., 1752, pp. 25-26. [16],230p.,plates; 4⁰. (ESTC T42626; OTA K041581.000) (Page images digitized from microfilm of a copy in the Bodleian Library [2799 d 134].)
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.
Other works by Christopher Smart
- Against ILL-NATURE. (); ODE AGAINST ILL-NATURE. ()
- APOLLO and DAPHNE. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The BAG-WIG and the TOBACCO-PIPE. A FABLE. ()
- CARE and GENEROSITY. A FABLE. ()
- The DECISION. BALLAD III. ()
- The DISTRESSED DAMSEL. BALLAD VII. ()
- EPITHALAMIUM. ODE XI. ()
- The FAIR RECLUSE. BALLAD VIII. ()
- The FORCE of INNOCENCE. To Miss C—. BALLAD VI. ()
- THE HOP-GARDEN. A GEORGIC. In Two BOOKS. ()
- IDLENESS. ODE VII. ()
- THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS. A MASQUE. ()
- The LASS with the golden Locks. BALLAD II. ()
- A MORNING PIECE, OR, AN HYMN for the HAY-MAKERS. ODE I. ()
- A NIGHT-PIECE; OR, MODERN PHILOSOPHY. ODE III. ()
- A NOON-PIECE; OR, The MOWERS at Dinner. ODE II. ()
- AN OCCASIONAL PROLOGUE and EPILOGUE TO OTHELLO, ()
- ODE ON ST. CECILIA's DAY. ()
- ODE IX. The Author apologizes to a Lady, for his being a little man. ()
- On an EAGLE confined in a College-Court. ODE XIII. ()
- On GOOD-NATURE. ()
- ON THE ETERNITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the Fifth of December, being the Birth-day of a beautiful young Lady. ODE V. ()
- ON THE GOODNESS OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE IMMENSITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE OMNISCIENCE OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE POWER OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the sudden Death of a CLERGYMAN. ODE IV. ()
- The PHYSICIAN and the MONKEY. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The PRETTY CHAMBERMAID: In Imitation of Ne sit Ancillae tibi amor pudori, &c. of Horace. ODE VI. ()
- The SILENT FAIR. BALLAD V. ()
- [A SONG to DAVID.] ()
- SWEET WILLIAM. BALLAD I. ()
- The TALKATIVE FAIR. BALLAD IV. ()
- To ETHELINDA, On her doing my Verses the honour of wearing them in her bosom. Written at Thirteen. ()
- To Miss — one of the Chichester Graces. BALLAD IX. ()
- To the reverend and learned Dr. WEBSTER, Occasioned by his Dialogues on ANGER and FORGIVENESS. ODE VIII. ()