THE Veil

Ah! fashion, wherefore dost thou still The female breast with anger fill, And teach such cruel arts? 'Tis thou that bid'st the fair conceal Their glowing charms beneath a veil, To tantalize our hearts. O banish the bonnet, or draw up the veil, And crown with simplicity each British fair; No longer their smiles and their dimples conceal. But let us behold them e'n just as they are.

Ah! fashion, 'tis thy ruthless pow'r, That midst the grove, and in the bow'r, Oft damps ecstatic bliss: For when the nectar we should sip, The cobweb flutters on the lip, And blunts the amorous kiss. O banish the bonnet, &c.

Oh! fashion, bid the curtain rise, That we may feast our longing eyes With dimples and with smiles; Then ev'ry youth shall bless the sway, And to thy precepts homage pay, Dear goddess of our isles. O banish the bonnet, &c.