A

REMEDY

FOR

LOVE

P

HILOCLEA, and PAMELA sweet,
By chance, in one great houfe did meet ;
And meeting, did fo join in heart,

That th' one from th' other could not
part!

And who, indeed (not made of ftones)
Would feparate fuch lovely ones?
The one is beautiful, and fair

As orient pearls and rubies are ; .

And sweet as, after gentle fhow'rs,
The breath is of fome thoufand flow'rs:
For due proportion, fuch an air
Circles the other, and so fair,
That it her brownnefs beautifies,
And doth inchant the wifeft eyes.

Have you not seen, on some great day,
Two goodly horfes, white and bay,
Which were so beauteous in their pride,
You knew not which to chufe or ride?
Such are these two; you scarce can tell,
Which is the daintier bonny belle;
And they are fuch, as, by my troth,
I had been fick with love of both,
And might have fadly faid, Good-night
Difcretion and good fortune quite;
But that young Cupid, my old master,
Prefented me a foy'reign plaister :
Mopfa! ev'n Mopfa! (precious peat)
Whofe lips of marble, teeth of jet,
Are fpells and charms of ftrong defense,
To conjure down concupifcence.

How oft have I been reft of sense,

By gazing on their excellence,
But meeting Mopfa in my way,

And looking on her face of clay,

Been heal'd, and cur'd, and made as found,
As though I ne'er had had a wound?
And when in tables of my heart,

Love wrought fuch things as bred my smart,
Mopfa would come, with face of clout,
And in an inftant wipe them out.
And when their faces made me fick,

Mopfa would come, with face of brick,
A little heated in the fire,

And break the neck of my defire.

Now

Now from their face I turn mine eyes,
But (cruel Panthers !) they furprize
Me with their breath, that incenfe sweet,
Which only for the gods is meet;
And jointly from them doth refpire,
Like both the Indies fet on fire :

Which fo o'ercomes man's ravish'd fense,
That fouls, to follow it, fly hence.
No fuch-like fmell you, if you range
By th' Stocks, or Cornhill's fquare Exchange;
There food I ftill as any stock,

'Till Mopfa (with her Puddle-dock)
Her compound, or electuary,

Made of old ling, and young canary;
Bloat-herring, cheese, and voided phyfick,
Being fomewhat troubled with a phthifick,
Did cough, and fetch a figh fo deep,
As did her very bottom fweep:
Whereby to all she did impart,
How love lay rankling at her heart:
Which, when I smelt, defire was flain,
And they breath'd forth perfumes in vain.
Their angel-voice furpriz'd me now;
But Mopfa, her Too-whit, To-hoo,
Defcending through her hoe-boy nofe,
Did that distemper foon compose.

And, therefore, O thou precious owl!
The wife Minerva's only fowl;
What, at thy fhrine, fhall I devise
To offer up a facrifice?

Hang Æfculapius, and Apollo,

And Ovid, with his precious fhallow.

Mopfa is love's beft medicine, mot
True water to a lover's winė.

Nay, fhe's the yellow antidote,

Both bred and born to cut Love's throat:
Be but my fecond, and ftand by, as
(Mopfa) and I'll them both defy;

And all elfe of those gallant races, blow
Who wear infection in their faces;

For thy face (that Medusa's fhield !)
Will bring me fafe out of the field.

214

SONNETS

AND

TRANSLATIONS

S

INCE fhunning pain, I eafe can never

find;

Since bafhful dread feeks where he

knows me harmed;

Since will is won, and flopped ears are

charmed;

Since force doth faint, and fight doth make me blind;
Since loofing long, the fafter still I bind;

Since naked fenfe can conquer reafon armed;

Since heart, in chilling fear, with ice is warmed;
In fine, Since ftrife of thought but mars the mind,
I yield, O Love! unto thy loathed yoke,
Yet craving law of arms, whofe rule doth teach,

That, hardly us'd, who ever prifon broke,
In justice quit, of honour made no breach :
Whereas, if I a grateful garden have,
Thou art my lord, and I thy vowed slave.