Pafs my unactive hours; In fuch an air, how can foft numbers flow, Are but fome fparks that foon as born expire. Hail happy woods! harbours of peace and joy ! No falfe corrupt delights our thoughts fhould move, VERSES PRESENTED TO A LADY, WITH A DRAWING (BY THE AUTHOR) OF CUPID. WHEN generous Dido in difguife carcfs'd No such event, fair nymph, you need to fear, HORACE, BOOK I. ODE XXII. " Integer vitæ, fcelerifque purus, "Non eget Mauri jaculis, neque arcu," &c. IMITATED IN PARAPHRASE. I. HENCE flavish fear thy Stygian wings difplay! 'I hou ugly fiend of hell, away! Wrapp'd in thick clouds, and fhades of night, To confcious fouls direct thy flight! There brood on guilt, fix there a loath'd embrace, And propagate vain terrors, frights, Dreams, goblins, and imagin'd fprights, Thy vifionary tribe, thy black and monftrous race. Go, haunt the flave that ftains his hands in gore! Poffefs the perjur'd mind, and rack the ufurer more, Than his oppreffion did the poor before. II. Vainly, you feeble wretches, you prepare The poifon'd fhaft, the Parthian bow, and fpear Like that the warlike Moor is wont to wield, He's only fafe, whofe armour of defence III. If o'er the steepy Alps he go, Vaft mountains of eternal flow, Or where fam'd Ganges and Hydafpes flow; If o'er parch'd Libya's defert land, Where threatening from afar Th' affrighted traveller Encounters moving hills of fand; No fenfe of danger can difturb his reft; He fears no human force, nor favage beast; Impenetrable courage feels his manly breaft. IV. Thus, late within the Sabine grove, A grizly wolf, with glaring eye, Numidia never faw a more prodigious beast; Where the stern lion shakes his knotted mane, And roars aloud for prey, and fcours the fpacious plain. V. Place me where no foft breeze of fummer wind Did e'er the ftiffen'd foil unbind, Where no refreshing warmth e'er durft invade, But winter holds his unmolefted feat, In all his hoary robes array'd, And rattling forms of hail, and noify tempefts beat. Place me beneath the fcorching blaze Of the fierce fun's immediate rays, Where house or cottage ne'er were seen, Nor rooted plant or tree, nor fpringing green; Yet, lovely Lalage, my generous flame Shall ne'er expire; I'll boldly sing of thee, Charm'd with the mufic of thy nan.e, And guarded by the gods of love and poetry. 1 HORACE, BOOK II. ODE XVI. TO GROSPHUS. "Otium Divos rogat in patenti "Prenfus Ægæo," &c. IMITATED IN PARAPHRASE. I. INDULGENT quiet! power ferene, Mother of peace, and joy, and love! Within what hollow rock, or winding cell, By human eyes unfeen, Like fome retreated Druid doft thou dwell? II. The wandering failors, pale with fear, For thee the gods implore, When the tempeftuous fea runs high, And when, through all the dark benighted fky, No friendly moo' or ftars appear To guide their steerage to the fhore: For thee the weary foldier prays; Furious in fight the fons of Thrace, And Medes, that wear majestic by their fide A-full-charg'd quiver's decent pride, Gladly with thee would pafs inglorious days, Renounce the warrior's tempting praise, And buy thec, if thou might'st be fold, [gold. With gems, and purple vests, and stores of plunder'd | But neither boundless wealth, nor guards that wait Across the gilded rooms of state, Much lefs will nature's modeft wants fupply; And happier lives the homely fwain, His few paternal goods enjoys, Nor knows the fordid luft of gain, Then, fince no flate's completely bleft, And leave to fate the rest. VIL. Thee shining wealth and plenteous joys furround, And, all thy fruitful fields around, Unnumber'd herds of cat:le ftray. Thy harness'd teeas with fprightly voice Make neighbouring vales and hi ls rejoice, While imoothly thy gay chariot flies o'er the iwift meafur'd way. To me the stars, with lefs profufi n kind, ' And no untuneful lyric vein, But a fincere contented mind, That can the vile malignant crowd difdain. THE BIRTH OF THE ROSE. FROM THE FRENCÙ. ONCE, on a folemn feftal day The birth of greens and fpringing flower Ye fhining graces of my courtly train, Let me your counfel and aflistance afk, The deities that ftood around, At first return'd a murmuring found; Then faid, Fair goddefs, do you know The factious feuds this must create, What jealous rage and mutual hate Among the rival flowers will grow? The vileft thistle that infefts the plain Will think his tawdry painted pride Deferves the crown; and, if deny'd, Perhaps with traitor-plots moleft your reign. Vain are your fears, Flora reply'd, 'Tis fix'd-and hear how I'll the caufe decide. Deep in a venerable wood, Where oaks, with vocal skill endued, Did wondrous oracles of old impart, Beneath a little hill's inclining fide, A grotto's feen where nature's art Is exercis'd in all her fmiling pride. Retir'd in this fweet grafly cell, A lovely wood nymph once did dwell. She always pleas'd; for more than mortal fire Shone in her eyes, and did her charms infpire; A Dryad bore the beauteous nyinph, a Sylvan was her fire. Chafte, wife, devout, fhe ftill obey'd With humble zeal heaven's dread commands, Pure was her heart, and undefil'd her hands. The wondrous mixture I would take, Th' applauding deities with pleasure heard, A bufy face the god of gardens wore; From various fweets th' exhaling spirits drew; Of richest fruits a plenteous ftore; Oi fimiles and graces: the plump god of wine Scarce had the goddefs fpoke; when fee! The nymph's extended limbs the form of branches wear; Behold the wondrous change, the fragant tree! To leaves was turn'd her flowing hair; Ye flowers at my command attendant here, To glorify the day, and grace the youthful year. Thus fpeaking, the the new-born favourite crown'd; The transformation was complete: [greet: The deities with fongs the queen of flowers did Soft flutes and tuneful harps were heard to found; While now to heaven the well-pleas'd goddess flies LOVERS OF MUSIC. MR. PEPUSCH having defired that fome account fhould be prefixed to these cantatas, relating to the words, it may be proper to acquaint the public, that they are the fift effays of this kind, and were written as an experiment of introducing a fort of compofition which had never been naturalized in our language. i hofe who are affectedly partial to the Italian tongue, will scarce allow mufic to speak any other; but if reafon may be admitted to have any fhare in thefe entertainments, nothing is more neceflary than that the words fhould be understood, without which the end of vocal mufic is loft. The want of this occafions a common complaint, and is the chief, if not the only reason, that the beft works of Scarlati and orator, with as little deviation from it as poffible. wher Italians, except those performed in peras, The different tones of the voice, in astonishment, are generally but little known or regarded here. joy, forrow, rage, tenderness in affirmations, apofBesides, it may be observed, without any difhonour trophes, interrogations, and all the varieties of to a language which has been adorned by fome | speech, make a sort of natural music, which is very writers of excellent genius, and was the first a- agreeable; and this is what is intended to be imi mong the moderns in which the art of poetry was tated, with fome helps by the compofer, but withrevived and brought to any perfection, that in the out approaching to what we call a tune or air; fo great number of their operas, ferenatas, and can- that it is but a kind of improved elocution or protatas, the words are often much inferior to the nouncing the words in musical cadences, and is incomposition; and though, by their abounding with deed wholly at the mercy of the performer to make vowels, they have an inimitable aptuefs and facility it agreeable or not, according to his skill or ignofor notes, the writers for mufic have not always rance, like the reading of verfe, which is not every made the beft ufe of this advantage, or feem to one's talent. This fhort account may poffibly sufhave relied on fo much as to have regarded little fice to fhew how properly the recitative has a place tife; fo that Mr. Waller's remark on another occa- in compositions of any length, to relieve the ear Lion may be frequently applied to them. with a variety, and to introduce the airs with the greater advantage. "Soft words, with nothing in them make a fong." Yet fo great is the force of founds well chofen and fkilfully executed, that as they can hide indifferent sense, and a kind of associated pleasure arises from the words though they are but mean; fo the impreffion cannot fail of b-ing in proportion much greater, when the thoughts are natural and proper, and the expreffions unaffected and agreeable. Since, therefore, the English language, though inferior in smoothnefs, has been found not incapable of harmony, nothing would perhaps be wanting to[ wards introducing the most elegant ftyle of music, in a nation which has given fach generous encouragements to it, if our best poets would fometimes aflift this defign, and make it their diverfion to improve a fort of verfe, in regular meafures, purpofely fitted for music, and which, of all the modern kinds, seems to be the only one that can now properly be called lyrics. It cannot but be observed on this occafion, that fince poetry and mufic are fo nearly allied, it is a misfortune that those who excel in one, are often perfect strangers to the other. If, therefore, a better correfpondence were fettled between the two Lifter arts, they would probably contribute to each other's improvement. The expreflions of harmony, cadence, and a good ear, which are said to be fo neceffary in poetry, being all borrowed from mufic, fhew at leaft, if they figuify any thing, that it would be no improper help for a poet to understand more than the metaphorical fenfe of them. And on the other hand, a compofer can never judge where to lay the accent of his mufic, who does not know, or is not made fenfible, where the words have the greatest beauty and force. There is one thing in con pofitions of this fort which feem a little to want explaining, and that is the recitative music, which many people hear without pleasure, the reason of which is, perhaps, that they have a niftaken notion of it. They are accustomed to think that all mufic fhould be air; and being difappointed of what they expect, they lole the beauty that is in it of a different kind. It may be proper to obferve, therefore, that the recitative style in corpofition is founded on that variety of accent which pleases in the pronunciation of a goed As to Mr. Pepufch's fuccefs in thefe compofitions, I am not at liberty to fay any more than that he has, I think, very naturally expreffed the fenfe of the words. He is defirous the public fhould be informed that they are not only the first he has attempted in English, but the first of any of his works published by himself; and as he wholly submits them to the judgment of the lovers of this art, it will be a pleasure to him to find that his endeavours to promote the compofing of mufic in the English language, after a new model, are favourably accepted. CANTATA I. ON ENGLISH BEAUTY. RECITATIVE. WHEN beauty's goddefs from the ocean sprung, And rais'd her tuneful voice, and thus the fung. AIR. Hail Britannia' hail to thee, Thou my favourite land shalt be. And dedicate to me its groves; Thou my favourite land fhalt be. RECITATIVE. Britannia heard the notes diffusing wide, O welcome! welcome to my shore! AIR. Lovely ifle! fo richly bleft ( AIR. FRAGRANT Flora! hafte, appear, Zephyr gently courts thee now. RECITATIVE. Thus on a fruitful bill, in the fair bloom of spring, AIR. Love and pleasures gaily flowing. Come this charming feafon grace! Smile, ye fair! your joys bestowing, CANTATA V. CORYDON. RECITATIVE. WHILE Corydon the lonely fhepherd try'd Love ftole the pipe of flceping Pan, and play'd; Gay fhepherd, to befriend thee, This bower's the happy place, RECITATIVE. The fhepherd role, he gaz'd around, And vainly fought the magic found; |