Canto VI

WHilst the shrill clangour of the Battel rings,
Auspicious health appear'd on Zephir's Wings;
She seem'd a Cherub most divinely bright,
More soft than Air, more gay than morning Light.
A Charm she takes from each excelling Fair,
And borrows C—ll's Shape, and G—ton's Air.
Her Eyes like R—agh's their Beams dispence,
With Ch—ill's Bloom, and B—kley's Innocence.
From her bright Lips a vocal Musick falls,
Whilst to Machaon thus the Goddess calls.

Enough th' atchievement of your Arms you've shown,
You seek a Triumph you shou'd blush to own.
Hast to th' Elysian Fields, those bless'd abodes,
Where Harvy sits among the Demi-Gods.
Consult that sacred Sage, He'll soon disclose
The method that must terminate these woes.
Let Celsus for that Enterprize prepare,
His conduct to the Shades shall be my care.

Aghast the Heroes stood dissolv'd in fear,
A Form so heav'nly bright They cou'd not bear,
Celsus alone unmov'd, the Sight beheld,
The rest in pale confusion left the Field.

So when the Pigmies marshal'd on the Plains;
Wage puny War against th' invading Cranes;
The Poppets to their bodkin Spears repair,
And scatter'd Feathers flutter in the Air.
But soon as ee'r th' imperial Bird of Jove
Stoops on his sounding Pinions from above,
Among the Brakes, the Fairy Nation crowds,
And the Strimonian Squadron seeks the Clouds.

And now the Delegate prepares to go
And view the Wonders of the Realms below;
Then takes Amomum for the Golden Bough.
Thrice did the Goddess with her Sacred Wand
The Pavement strike; and straight at her Command
Th' obedient Surface opens, and descries
A deep Descent that leads to nether Skies.
Higeia to the silent Region tends;
And with his Heav'nly Guide the Charge descends.

Within the Chambers of the Globe they spy
The Beds where sleeping Vegetables lie:
Till the glad Summons of a Genial Ray
Unbinds the Glebe, and calls them out to Day.
Hence Pancies trick themselves in various Hew,
And hence Iunquils derive their fragrant Dew.
Hence the Carnation, and the bashful Rose
Their Virgin Blushes to the Morn disclose.
Hence Arbours are with twining Greens array'd.
T' oblige complaining Lovers with their Shade.
And hence on Daphne's verdant Temples grow
Immortal Wreaths, for Phoebus and Nassau.

The Insects here their lingring Trance survive:
Benumn'd they seem, and doubtful if alive.
From Winter's Fury hither they repair,
And stay for milder Skies and softer Air.
Down to these Cells obscener Reptils creep;
And there the Nutes and painted Lizzards sleep.
There shiv'ring Snakes the Summer Solstice wait;
Unfurl their painted Folds, and slide in State.

Now, those profounder Regions they explore,
Where Metals ripen in vast Cakes of Oar.
Here, sullen to the Sight, at large is spread
The dull unwieldy Mass of lumpish Lead.
There, glimm'ring in their dawning Beds, are seen
The more aspiring Seeds of sprightly Tin.
The Copper sparkles next in ruddy Streaks;
And in the Gloom betrays its glowing Cheeks.
The Silver then, with bright and burnish'd Grace,
Youth and a blooming Lustre in its Face,
To th' op'ning Arms of these lov'd Metals flyes;
And in the Folds of their Embraces lyes.
So close they cling, so stubbornly retire;
Their Love's more violent than the Chymist's Fire.

Near These the Delegate with Wonder spies
Where living Floods of Merc'ry serpentize:
Where richest Metals their bright Beams put on,
While Silver Streams thro' Golden Channels run.
Here he observes the subterranean Cells,
Where wanton Nature sports in idle Shells.
Some Helicoeids, some Conical appear,
These, Miters emulate, Those, Turbans are:
Here Marcasites in various Figure wait,
To ripen to a true Metallick State:
Till Drops that from impending Rocks descend,
Their Substance petrifie, and Progress end.
Nigh, livid Seas of kindl'd Sulphur flow;
And, whilst enrag'd, their Fiery Surges glow:
Convulsions in the lab'ring Mountains rise,
And hurl their melted Vitals to the Skies.

He views with Horror next the noisy Cave;
Where with hoars dinn th' imprison'd Tempests rave:
Where Clam'rous Hurricanes attempt their Flight,
Or, whirling in tumultuous Eddies, fight.

And now the Goddess with her Charge descends,
Where scarce one cheerful Glimpse their Steps befriends,
Here his forsaken Seat old Chaos keeps;
And undisturb'd by Form, in Silence sleeps.
A grisly Wight, and hideous to the Eye;
An awkard Lump of shapeless Anarchy.
With sordid Age his Features are defac'd;
His Lands unpeopl'd, and his Countries waste.
Here Lumber, undeserving Light, is kept,
And P—p's Bill to this dark Region's swept:
Where Mushroom Libels silently retire;
And, soon as born, with Decency expire.
Upon a Couch of Iett in these Abodes,
Dull Night, his melancholy Consort, nodds.
No Ways and Means their Cabinet employ;
But their dark Hours they waste in barren Joy.

Nigh this Recess, with Terror they survey,
Where Death maintains his dread tyrannick Sway:
I'th' middle of a dusky Cypress Grove,
Where Goblins frisk, and Airy Spectres rove,
Yawns a dark Cave most formidably wide;
And there the Monarch's Triumphs are descry'd.
Within its Dreadful Jaws those Furies wait,
Which execute the harsh Decrees of Fate.
Febris is first: The Hagg relentless hears
The Virgin's Sighs; and sees the Infant's Tears.
In her parch'd Eye-Balls fiery Meteors reign;
And restless Ferments revel in each Vein.
Then Hydrops next appears amongst the Throng;
Bloated, and big, she slowly sails along.
But, like a Miser, in Excess she's poor;
And pines for Thirst amidst her wat'ry Store.
Now loathsome Lepra, that offensive Spright,
With foul Eruptions stain'd, offends the Sight.
She's deaf to Beauty's soft persuading Pow'r:
Nor can bright Hebe's Charms her Bloom secure.
Whilst meagre Phthisis gives a silent Blow;
Her Stroaks are sure; but her Advances slow.
No loud Alarms, nor fierce Assaults are shown:
She starves the Fortress first; then takes the Town.
Behind stood Crouds of much inferiour Name,
Too num'rous to repeat, too soul to name;
The Vassals of their Monarch's Tyranny:
Who, at his Nod, on fatal Errands fly.

Now Celsus, with his glorious Guide, invade
The silent Region of the fleeting Shades.
Where Rocks and ruful Desarts are descry'd;
And sullen Styx rolls down his lazy Tide.
Then shews the Ferry-man the Plant he bore,
And claims his Passage to the further Shore.
To whom the Stygian Pilot smiling, said,
You need no Pass-port to demand our Aid.
Physicians never linger on this Strand:
Old Charon ne'er refuses their Command.
Our awful Monarch and his Consort owe
To them the peopl'ing of their Realms below.
Then in his swarthy Hand he grasp'd his Oar,
Receiv'd his Guests aboard, and shov'd from Shoar.

Now, as the Goddess and her Charge prepare
To breathe the Sweets of soft Elysian Air;
Upon the left they spy a pensive Shade,
Who on his bended Arm had rais'd his Head:
Pale Grief sate heavy on his careful Look:
To whom, not unconcern'd, thus Celsus spoke:

Tell me, Thou much afflicted Shade, why Sighs
Burst from your Breast, and Torrents from your Eyes:
And who those mangl'd Manes are which show
A sullen Satisfaction at your Woe?
Since, said the Ghost, with Pity you'll attend,
Know, I'm Guiacum, once your valu'd Friend.
And on this barren Beach in Discontent,
Am doom'd to stay till th' angry Pow'rs relent.
Those Spectres seam'd with Scarrs, that threaten there,
The Victims of my late ill Conduct are.
They vex with endless Clamours my Repose:
This wants his Palate; That demands his Nose.
And here they execute stern Pluto's Will,
To ply me ev'ry moment with a Pill.

Then Celsus thus: O much-lamented state!
How moving's the Disaster you relate.
Methinks I recollect your former Air,
But ah, how much you're chang'd from what you were?
If Mortals e're the Stygian Power cou'd bend,
Entreaties to their awful Seats I'd send.
But since no human Arts the Fates disswade,
Direct me how to find bless'd Harvy's Shade.
In vain th' unhappy Ghost still urg'd his stay,
Then rising from the ground, he shew'd the way.

Nigh the dull Shore a shapeless Mountain stood,
That with a dreadful frown survey'd the Flood.
Its fearful Brow no lively Greens puts on,
No frisking Goats bound o'er the ridgy Stone.
To gain the Summit the bright Goddess try'd,
And Celsus follow'd, by degrees, his Guide.

Th' Ascent thus conquer'd, now They towr on high,
And tast th' indulgence of a milder Sky.
Loose Breezes on their airy Pinions play,
And with refreshing Sweets perfume the way.
Cool streams thro flowry Meadows gently glide,
And as They pass, their painted Banks they chide.
These blissful Plains no Blites, nor Mildews fear,
The Flowers ne'er fade, and Shrubs are Myrtles there.

The Delegate observes with wondring Eyes
Ambrosial Dews descend, and Incense rise.
Then hastens onward to the pensive Grove,
The silent Mansion of disastrous Love.
No Winds but Sighs are there, no Floods but Tears,
Each conscious Tree a tragick Signal bears.
Their wounded Bark records some broken Vow,
And Willow Garlands hang on ev'ry Bough.

His Mistress here in solitude he found,
Her down-cast Eyes fix'd on the silent ground:
Her Dress neglected, and unbound her Hair,
She seem'd the mournful image of Despair.
How lately did this celebrated Thing
Blaze in the Box, and sparkle in the Ring,
Till the Green-sickness and Love's force betray'd
To Death's remorsless arms th' unhappy Maid.

Cold and confus'd the guilty Lover stood,
The light forsook his Eyes, his Cheeks the Blood;
An icy horrour shiver'd in his Look,
Then softly in these gentle words, He spoke:

Tell me, dear Shade, from whence such anxious care
Your Looks disorder'd and your Bosom bare?
Why thus you languish like a drooping Flow'r
Crush'd by the weight of some unfriendly shower.
Your pale Complexion your late Conduct tell,
O that instead of Trash you'd taken Steel.
Then as he strove to clasp the fleeting Fair,
His empty Arms confess'd th' impassive Air.
From his Embrace the unbody'd Spectre flies,
And as she mov'd, she chid him with her Eyes.

They hasten now to that delighful Plain
Where the glad Manes of the Bless'd remain:
Where Harvy gathers Simples to bestow
Immortal Youth on Hero's Shades below.
Soon as the bright Higeia was in view
The venerable Sage her Presence knew.
Thus He—

Hail blooming Goddess, Thou propitious Pow'r,
Whose Blessings mortals next to Life implore.
Such Graces in your heav'nly Eyes appear,
That Cottages are Courts when you are there.
Mankind, as you vouchsafe to smile or frown,
Finds ease in Chains, or anguish in a Crown.
With just resentments and contempt you see
The mean dissentions of the Faculty;
How sick'ning Physick hangs her pensive head,
And what was once a Science, now's a Trade.
Her Sons ne'er rifle her mysterious Store,
But study Nature less, and Lucre more.

I shew'd of old, how vital Currents glide,
And the Meanders of their refluent Tyde.
Then, Willis, why spontaneous Actions here,
And whence involuntary Motions, there:
And how the Spirits by mechanick Laws,
In wild Cariers, tumultuous Riots cause.
Nor wou'd our Wharton, Bates and Glisson lye
In the Abyss of blind Obscurity.
But now such wondrous Searches are forborn,
And Paean's Art is by divisions torn.
Then let your Charge attend, and I'll explain
How Physick her lost Lustre may regain.
Haste and the matchless. Atticus Address
From Heav'n, and great Nassau he has the Mace.
Th' oppress'd to his Asylum still repair,
Arts He supports, and Learning is his care.
He softens the harsh rigour of the Laws,
Blunts their keen Edge, and cuts their harpy Claws;
And graciously he casts a pitying Eye
On the sad state of vertuous Poverty.
When e'er he speaks, heav'ns! how the list'ning Throng
Dwells on the melting musick of his Tongue.
His Arguments are th' Emblems of his Mein,
Mild, but not faint, and forcing, tho' serene;
And when the power of Eloquence, He'd try,
Here, Lightning strikes you, there, soft Breezes sigh.

To him you must your sickly state refer,
Your Charter claims Him as your Visiter.
Your Wounds he'll close, and sov'reignly restore
Your Science to the height it had before.
Then Nassau's Health shall be your glorious Arm,
His Life shou'd be immortal as his Name.
Some Princes claims from Devastations spring,
He condescends in pity to be King:
And when, amidst his Olives plac'd, He stands,
And governs more by Candour than Commands:
Ev'n then not less a Heroe he appears,
Than when his Laurel Diadem he wears.
Wou'd but Apollo some great Bard inspire
With sacred veh'mence of Poetick Fire;
To celebrate in Song that God-like Power,
Which did the labouring Universe restore.
Fair Albian's Cliffs wou'd Eccho to the Strain,
And praise the Arm that Conquer'd to regain
The Earth's repose, and Empire o'er the Main.

Still may th' immortal Man his Cares repeat,
To make his Blessings endless as they're great:
Whilst Malice and Ingratitude confess,
They've strove for Ruine long without success.

Had some fam'd Heroe of the Latin blood,
Like Iulius great, and like Octavius good,
But thus preserv'd the sinking Latian Power,
Rome had erected Columns ev'ry hour;
Loud Io's her proud Capitol had shook,
And all the Statues of the Gods had spoke.

No more, the Sage his Raptures cou'd pursue,
He paus'd: and Celus with his Guide withdrew.