WHEN Music, heavenly maid, was young, While yet in early Greece she sung, The Passions oft, to hear her shell, Thronged around her magic cell, Exulting, trembling, raging, fainting, Possessed beyond the Muse's painting: By turns they felt the glowing mind Disturbed, delighted, raised, refined; Till once, 'tis said, when all were fired, Filled with fury, rapt, inspired, From the supporting myrtles round, They snatched her instruments of sound; And as they oft had heard apart, Sweet lessons of her forceful art, Each (for Madness ruled the hour) Would prove his own expressive power. With woful measures, wan Despair Low, sullen sounds his grief beguiled; A solemn, strange, and mingled air; 'Twas sad by fits, by starts 'twas wild. But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, What was thy delighted measure? Still it whispered promised pleasure, And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail! Still would her touch the strain prolong; And from the rocks, the woods, the vale, She called on Echo still, through all the song; And, where her sweetest theme she chose, A soft responsive voice was heard at every close, And Hope enchanted smiled, and waved her golden hair. And longer had she sung; - but with a frown Revenge impatient rose: He threw his blood-stained sword, in thunder down; And with a withering look, And, ever and anon, he beat And though sometimes, each dreary pause between, Dejected Pity, at his side, Her soul-subduing voice applied, Yet still he kept his wild unaltered mien, While each strained ball of sight seemed bursting from his head. Thy numbers, Jealousy, to nought were fixed; Sad proof of thy distressful state; Of differing themes the veering song was mixed; And now it called on Love, now With eyes upraised, as one inspired, Poured through the mellow horn her pensive soul: And dashing soft from rocks around, Bubbling runnels joined the sound; Through glades and glooms the mingled measure stole, Or, o'er some haunted stream, with fond delay, Round a holy calm diffusing, Love of Peace, and lonely musing, In hollow murmurs died away. But O! how altered was its sprightlier tone, When Cheerfulness, a nymph of healthiest hue, Her bow across her shoulder flung, Her buskins gemmed with morning dew, Blew an inspiring air that dale and thicket rung, The hunter's call, to Faun and The oak-crowned Sisters, and their chaste-eyed Queen, Satyrs and Sylvan Boys, were seen, Peeping from forth their alleys green: Brown Exercise rejoiced to hear; And Sport leaped up, and seized his beechen spear. Last came Joy's ecstatic trial: First to the lively pipe his hand addrest; But soon he saw the brisk awakening viol, Whose sweet entrancing voice he loved the best; They would have thought, who heard the strain, They saw in Tempe's vale, her native maids, Amidst the festal sounding shades, To some unwearied minstrel dancing, While, as his flying fingers kissed the strings, Love framed with Mirth a gay fantastic round: Loose were her tresses seen, her zone unbound; And he, amidst his frolic and his play, As if he would the charming air Timotheus placed on high Amid the tuneful choir With flying fingers touched the lyre: Who left his blissful seats above- Then round her slender waist he curled, And stamped an image of himself, a sovereign of the world. -The listening crowd admire the lofty sound! A present deity! they shout around: A present deity! the vaulted roofs rebound! With ravished ears The monarch hears, Assumes the god; Affects to nod, And seems to shake the spheres. The praise of Bacchus then the sweet musician sung, Of Bacchus ever fair and ever young: The jolly god in triumph comes! Bacchus, ever fair and young, Sweet the pleasure, Sweet is pleasure after pain. Soothed with the sound, the king grew vain; Fought all his battles o'er again, He chose a mournful Muse He sung Darius great and good, Fallen, fallen, fallen, fallen, The mighty master smiled to see War, he sung, is toil and trouble, So Love was crowned, but Music won the cause. The prince unable to conceal his pain, Gazed on the fair And sighed and looked, sighed and looked, Sighed and looked and sighed again: At length with love and wine at once opprest The vanquished victor sunk upon her breast. Now strike the golden lyre again: A louder yet, and yet a louder strain! Break his bands of sleep asunder, And rouse him like a rattling peal of thunder. Hark, hark! the horrid sound As awaked from the dead See the snakes that they rear Behold a ghastly band Each a torch in his hand! And unburied remain Behold how they toss their torches on high, How they point to the Persian abodes And glittering temples of their hostile gods. The princes applaud with a furi ous joy: And the King seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy; |