[Page 151]

To Mrs. Frances-Arabella Kelly
[ed.] "[Frances-Arabella Kelly] was the daughter of Captain Dennis Kelly and distinguished for her beauty; she captivated Swift and was a member of the Deanery circle. She died in 1733." (Tucker [1992], 216) (AH)
.

1 To Day, as at my Glass I stood,
2 To set my Head-cloaths, and my Hood;
3 I saw my grizzled Locks with Dread,
4 And call'd to mind the Gorgon's Head.
5 Thought I, whate'er the Poets say,
6 Medusa's Hair was only gray:
7 Tho' Ovid, who the Story told,
8 Was too well-bred to call her old;
9 But, what amounted to the same,
10 He made her an immortal Dame.
11 Yet now, whene'er a Matron sage
12 Hath felt the rugged Hand of Age,
[Page 152]
13 You hear out witty Coxcombs cry,
14 Rot that old Witch she'll never die.
15 Tho', had they but a little Reading,
16 Ovid would teach them better Breeding.
17 I fancy now, I hear you say,
18 Grant Heav'n, my Locks may ne'er be gray!
19 Why am I told this frightful Story?
20 To Beauty a Memento mori.
21 And, as along the Room you pass,
22 Casting your Eye upon the Glass,
23 Surely, say you, this lovely Face
24 Will never suffer such Disgrace:
25 The Bloom, that on my Cheek appears,
26 Will never be impair'd by Years.
27 Her Envy, now, I plainly see,
28 Makes her inscribe those Lines to me.
29 These Beldams, who were born before me,
30 Are griev'd to see the Men adore me:
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31 Their snaky Locks freeze up the Blood;
32 My Tresses fire the purple Flood.
33 Unnumber'd Slaves around me wait,
34 And from my Eyes expect their Fate:
35 I own, of Conquest I am vain,
36 Tho' I despise the Slaves I gain.
37 Heav'n gave me Charms, and destin'd me
38 For universal Tyranny.

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Title (in Source Edition): To Mrs. Frances-Arabella Kelly.
Author: Mary Barber
Themes: age; beauty
Genres: complaint; address
References: DMI 11568

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Barber, Mary, ca. 1690-1757. Poems on Several Occasions [poems only]. London: Printed for C. Rivington, at the Bible and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1734, pp. 151-153. xlviii,283,[7]p.; 8⁰. (ESTC T42622; DMI 519; Foxon p. 45) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 3644].)

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Other works by Mary Barber