[Page 91]

The Garland.

I.
1 The Pride of ev'ry Grove I chose,
2 The Violet sweet, and Lilly fair,
3 The dappl'd Pink, and blushing Rose,
4 To deck my charming Cloe's Hair.
II.
5 At Morn the Nymph vouchsaft to place
6 Upon her Brow the various Wreath;
7 The Flow'rs less blooming than Her Face,
8 The Scent less fragrant than Her Breath.
III.
9 The Flow'rs She wore along the Day:
10 And ev'ry Nymph and Shepherd said,
11 That in her Hair they lookt more gay,
12 Than glowing in their Native Bed.
[Page 92]
IV.
13 Undrest at Evening, when She found
14 Their Odours lost, their Colours past;
15 She chang'd her Look, and on the Ground
16 Her Garland and her Eye She cast.
V.
17 That Eye dropt Sense distinct and clear,
18 As any Muse's Tongue cou'd speak;
19 When from it's Lid a pearly Tear
20 Ran trickling down her beauteous Cheek.
VI.
21 Dissembling, what I knew too well,
22 My Love, my Life, said I, explain
23 This Change of Humour: pr'ythee tell:
24 That falling Tear — What does it mean?
VII.
25 She sigh'd; She smil'd: and to the Flow'rs
26 Pointing, the Lovely Moralist said:
27 See! Friend, in some few fleeting Hours,
28 See yonder, what a Change is made.
VIII.
29 Ah Me! the blooming Pride of May,
30 And That of Beauty are but One:
31 At Morn Both flourish bright and gay,
32 Both fade at Evening, pale, and gone.
IX.
33 At Dawn poor Stella danc'd and sung;
34 The am'rous Youth around Her bow'd:
35 At Night her fatal Knell was rung;
36 I saw, and kiss'd Her in her Shrowd.
[Page 93]
X.
37 Such as She is, who dy'd to Day;
38 Such I, alas! may be to Morrow:
39 Go, Damon, bid Thy Muse display
40 The Justice of thy Cloe's Sorrow.

Text

  • TEI/XML (XML - 117K / ZIP - 11K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 1.5K / ZIP - 1.0K)

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [H 6.8 Art.].)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 3.9M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): The Garland.
Author: Matthew Prior
Themes:
Genres: ode

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Prior, Matthew, 1664-1721. Poems on Several Occasions [English poems only]. London: Printed for JACOB TONSON at Shakespear's-Head over against Katharine-Street in the Strand, and JOHN BARBER upon Lambeth-Hill. MDCCXVIII., 1718, pp. 91-93. [42],506,[6]p.: ill.; 2°. (ESTC T075639) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [H 6.8 Art.].)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. 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 Matthew Prior