To Mrs. B. to invite her from Virginia to Bermudas

From distant climes Lucinda came To conquer and disdain, Then leading captive every heart, In triumph cross'd the main.

Ye fleets that o'er the Atlantic spread Your sails, neglect to trade; Forget the treasures of Peru To seek the lovely maid:

But if the fair, resolv'd to shine Upon the western shore, Will never with her presence bless Benighted Europe more;

As Cytherea fix'd her throne In Cyprus, happy isle, So let the new world's queen of love On her Bermuda smile.

The orange and the citron groves That blossom all the year, For her the Hesperides preserve Without the dragon's care.

Swift, swift as Atalanta fly, The golden fruit depends, And none but golden arrows arm The boy that there attends.

The choicest spirits of the age All for the west prepare: The muses all are on the wing, To meet Lucinda there.