Dear Pallas, I have been this morn
To see a lovely infant born;
A boy in yonder ifle below,
So like my own without his bow,
By beauty cou'd
You'd fwear it is Apollo's fon :
But it fhall ne'er be faid, a child
So hopeful has by me been spoil'd;
I have enough befides to fpare,
And give him wholly to your care.
Wisdom's above fufpecting wiles:
The queen of learning gravely fmiles,
Down from Olympus comes with joy,
Miftakes Vanessa for a boy;
Then fows within her tender mind
Seeds long unknown to womankind;
For manly bofoms chiefly fit,
The feeds of knowledge, judgment, wit:
Her foul was fuddenly endu'd
With justice, truth, and fortitude;
With honour, which no breath can ftain,
Which malice muft attack in vain ;
With open heart and bounteous hand.
But Pallas here was at a ftand;
She knew in our degen'rate days
Bare virtue could not live on praise;
That meat must be with money bought :
She therefore, upon fecond thought,
Infus'd, yet as it were by stealth,
Some fmall regard for ftate and wealth;
Of which, as she grew up, there ftay'd
A tincture in the prudent maid:
She manag'd her estate with care,
Yet lik'd three footmen to her chair.
But, left he should neglect his ftudies
Like a young heir, the thrifty Goddess
(For fear young mafter should be spoil'd,)
Wou'd ufe him like a younger child;
And, after long computing, found
"Twou'd come to juft five thousand pound.
The queen of love was pleas'd, and proud,
To fee Vanessa thus endow'd:
She doubted not but fuch a dame
Through ev'ry breaft would dart a flame;
That ev'ry rich and lordly swain
With pride wou'd drag about her chain;
That scholars wou'd forfake their books
To study bright Vanessa's looks;
As fhe advanc'd, that womankind
Wou'd by her model form their mind,
And all their conduct wou'd be try'd
By her, as an unerring guide;
Offending daughters oft wou'd hear
Vaneffa's praife rung in their ear:
Mifs Betty, when she does a fault,
Lets falls her knife, or fpills the falt,
Will thus be by her mother chid,
""Tis what Vanella never did."
Thus by the nymphs and fwains ador'd,
My pow'r fhall be again restor'd,
And happy lovers blefs my reign---
So Venus hop'd, but hop'd in vain.
For, when in time the martial maid
Found out the trick that Venus play'd,
She shakes her helm, the knits her brows,
And fir'd with indignation vows,
To-morrow, e'er the setting fun,
She'd all undo, that fhe had done.
But in the poets we may find,
A wholefome law time out of mind
Had been confirm'd by fate's decree;
That Gods, of whatfoe'er degree,
Refume not what themselves have giv'n,
Or any brother-God in heav'n;
Which keeps the peace among the Gods,
Or they must always be at odds:
And Pallas, if the broke the laws,
Muft yield her foe the stronger cause;
A fhame to one, fo much ador'd
For wisdom at Jove's council-board.
Befides, fhe fear'd the queen of love
Wou'd meet with better friends above.
And though she must with grief reflect,
To fee a mortal virgin deck'd
With graces hitherto unknown
To female breafts, except her own;
Yet fhe wou'd act as beft became
A Goddess of unfpotted fame.
She knew, by augury divine,
Venus wou'd fail in her defign:
She study'd well the point, and found
Her foe's conclufions were not found,
From premiffes erroneous brought,
And therefore the deduction's nought,
And must have contrary effects,
To what her treach'rous foe expects.
In proper feafon Pallas meets
The queen of love, whom thus fhe greets,
(For Gods, we are by Homer told,
Can in celestial language fcold)
Perfidious Goddess! but in vain
You form'd this project in your brain,
A project for thy talents fit,
With much deceit, and little wit.
Thou haft, as thou fhalt quickly fee,
Deceiv'd thyfelf, instead of me:
For how can heav'nly wifdom prove
An inftrument to earthly love?
Know'st thou not yet, that men commence
Thy votaries for want of fenfe?
Nor fhall Vanessa be the theme
To manage thy abortive scheme:
She'll prove the greatest of thy foes;
And yet I fcorn to interpose,
But using neither skill, nor force,
Leave all things to their natʼral course.
The goddess thus pronounc'd her doom:
When, lo! Vanessa in her bloom
Advanc'd, like Atalanta's ftar,
But rarely feen, and feen from far:
In a new world with caution stept,
Watch'd all the company fhe kept,
Well knowing from the books fhe read
What dang'rous paths young virgins tread :
Wou'd feldom at the park appear,
Nor faw the play-house twice a year ;
Yet, not incurious, was inclin'd
To know the converse of mankind.
First iffued from perfumers shops
A croud of fashionable fops:
They afk'd her, how the lik'd the play
Then told the tattle of the day;
A duel fought laft night at two,
About a lady ---You know who;
Mention'd a new Italian, come
Either from Muscovy or Rome;
Gave hints of who and who's together:
Then fell to talking of the weather :
Last night was fo extremely fine,
The ladies walk'd till after nine.
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