Damon and Cupid

The sun was now withdrawn.
The shepherds home were sped;
The moon wide o'er the lawn
Her silver mantle spread;
When Damon stay'd behind,
And saunter'd in the grove.
"Will ne'er a nymph be kind,
And give me love for love?

"O! those were golden hours,
When Love, devoid of cares.
In all Arcadia's bowers
Lodg'd nymphs and swains by pairs;
But now from wood and plain
Flies every sprightly lass;
No joys for me remain,
In shades, or on the grass."

The winged boy draws near;
And thus the swain reproves:
"While Beauty revell'd here.
My game lay in the groves;
At Court I never fail
To scatter round my arrows;
Men fall as thick as hail.
And maidens love like sparrows.

"Then, swain, if me you need.
Straight lay your sheep-hook down;
Throw by your oaten reed,
And haste away to town.
So well I'm known at Court,
None ask where Cupid dwells;
But readily resort
To Bellendens or Lepells."