Of ills I fpeak by long experience found,
Oft' have I trod th' immeafurable round,
And mourn'd my fhins bruis'd black with many
a wound.

Nor fhou'd the tighten'd stays, too straightly lac'd,
In whale-bone bondage gall the flender waist;
Nor waving lappets fhou'd the dancing fair,
Nor ruffles edg'd with dangling fringes wear;
Oft' will the cobweb ornaments catch hold
On the approaching button rough with gold;
Nor force, nor art can then the bonds divide,
When once th' intangled gordian knot is ty'd:
So the unhappy pair, by Hymen's pow'r
Together join'd in fome ill-fated hour,
The more they strive their freedom to regain,
The fafter binds th' indiffoluble chain.

Let each fair maid, who fears to be difgrac'd,
Ever be fure to tye her garter fast,

Left the loos'd string, amidst the public ball,
A wifh'd for prize to fome proud fop should fall,
Who the rich treasure shall triumphant fhew,
And with warm blushes cause her cheeks to glow.
But yet, (as Fortune by the self-same ways
She humbles many, fome delights to raise)
It happen'd once, a fair illuftrious dame
By fuch neglect acquir'd immortal fame;
And hence the radiant ftar and garter blue
BRITANNIA'S nobles grace, if Fame fays true:
Hence ftill, PLANTAGENET, thy beauties bloom,
Tho' long fince moulder'd in the dusky tomb,

Still thy loft garter is thy fov'reign's care,
And what each royal breaft is proud to wear.
But let me now my lovely charge remind,
Left they forgetful leave their fans behind;
Lay not, ye fair, the pretty toy afide,
A toy at once difplay'd for use and pride;
A wond'rous engine, that by magic charms
Cools your own breast, and ev'ry other's warms.
What daring bard fhall e'er attempt to tell
The pow'rs that in this little weapon dwell?
What verse can e'er explain its various parts,
Its num'rous uses, motions, charms and arts?
Its painted folds, that oft' extended wide,
Th' afflicted fair one's blubber'd beauties hide,
When fecret forrows her fad bofom fill,
If STREPHON is unkind, or SHOCK is ill:
Its fticks, on which her eyes dejected pore,
And pointing fingers number o'er and o'er,
When the kind virgin burns with fecret fhame,
Dies to confent, yet fears to own her flame:
Its shake triumphant, its victorious clap,
Its angry flutter, and its wanton tap?

Forbear, my Mufe, th' extensive theme to fing, Nor truft in fuch a flight thy tender wing; Rather do you in humble lines proclaim,

From whence this engine took its form and name;
Say from what cause it first deriv'd its birth,
How form'd in heav'n, how thence deduc'd to earth.

Once in Arcadia, that fam'd feat of love, There liv'd a nymph, the pride of all the grove,

L

A

A lovely nymph, adorn'd with ev'ry grace,
An easy shape, and sweetly-blooming face;
FANNY the damfel's name, as chafte as fair,
Each virgin's envy, and each swain's despair;
To charm her ear the rival fhepherds fing,
Blow the foft flute, and wake the trembling ftring,
For her they leave their wand'ring flocks to rove,
Whilft FANNY's name resounds thro' ev'ry grove,
And fpreads on ev'ry tree, inclos'd in knots of
love;

AS FIELDING'S now, her eyes all hearts inflame,
Like her in beauty, as alike in name.

'Twas when the fummer fun, now mounted high, With fiercer beams had fcorch'd the glowing fky, Beneath the covert of a cooling fhade, To fhun the heat, this lovely nymph was laid; The fultry weather o'er her cheeks had spread A blufh, that added to their native red, And her fair breafts, as polifh'd marble white, Were half conceal'd and half expos'd to fight; EOLUS, the mighty god whom winds obey, Obferv'd the beauteous maid, as thus fhe lay; O'er all her charms he gaz'd with fond delight, And fuck'd in poifon at the dang'rous fight; He fighs, he burns; at last declares his pain, But ftill he fighs, and ftill he wooes in vain; The cruel nymph, regardless of his moan, Minds not his flame, uneafy with her own; But still complains, that he who rul'd the air Wou'd not command one Zephyr to repair

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Around her face, nor gentle breeze to play
Thro' the dark glade, to cool the fultry day;
By love incited, and the hopes of joy,
Th' ingenious god contriv'd this pretty toy,
With gales inceffant to relieve her flame;
And call'd it FAN, from lovely FANNY's name.

N

CANTO II.

TOW fee prepar'd to lead the fprightly dance,
The lovely nymphs, and well drefs'd youths
advance ;

The spacious room receives its jovial guest,
And the floor fhakes with pleafing weight opprefs'd:
Thick rang'd on ev'ry fide, with various dyes,
The fair in gloffy filks our fight furprize:

So, in a garden bath'd with genial fhow'rs,
A thousand forts of variegated flow'rs,
Jonquills, carnations, pinks, and tulips rise,
And in a gay confusion charm our eyes.

High o'er their heads, with num'rous candles bright,
Large sconces fhed their sparkling beams of light;
Their fparkling beams, that still more brightly glow,
Reflected back from gems, and eyes below:
Unnumber'd fans to cool the crowded fair
With breathing zephyrs move the circling air,
The fprightly fiddle, and the founding lyre
Each youthful breaft with gen'rous warmth infpire;
Fraught with all joys the blissful moments fly, [eye.
While mufic melts the ear, and beauty charms the

L 2

Now

A lovely nymph, adorn'd with ev'ry grace,
An eafy fhape, and fweetly-blooming face;
FANNY the damfel's name, as chafte as fair,
Each virgin's envy, and each swain's despair;
To charm her ear the rival fhepherds fing,
Blow the foft flute, and wake the trembling string,
For her they leave their wand'ring flocks to rove,
Whilft FANNY's name refounds thro' ev'ry grove,
And fpreads on ev'ry tree, inclos'd in knots of
love;

As FIELDING's now, her eyes all hearts inflame,
Like her in beauty, as alike in name.

'Twas when the fummer fun, now mounted high, With fiercer beams had fcorch'd the glowing fky, Beneath the covert of a cooling shade,

To fhun the heat, this lovely nymph was laid;
The fultry weather o'er her cheeks had fpread
A blush, that added to their native red,

And her fair breafts, as polifh'd marble white,
Were half conceal'd and half expos'd to fight;
EOLUS, the mighty god whom winds obey,
Obferv'd the beauteous maid, as thus fhe lay;
O'er all her charms he gaz'd with fond delight,
And fuck'd in poison at the dang’rous fight;
He fighs, he burns; at last declares his pain,
But still he fighs, and still he wooes in vain;
The cruel nymph, regardless of his moan,
Minds not his flame, uneafy with her own;
But still complains, that he who rul❜d the air
Wou'd not command one Zephyr to repair

Around