Vi

Bōrn tŏ | the spa|cious em|pire of | the Nine, One would | have thought | she should | have been | content To man|age well | that migh|ty gov|ernment; But what | can young | ambi|tious souls | confine? To the | next realm | she stretched | her sway, For Pain|ture near | adjoin|ing lay, A plen|teous prov|ince, and | allur|ing prey. A cham|ber of | depen|dencies | was framed, (As con|querors | will nev|er want | pretence, When armed, | to just|ify | the offence,) And the | whole fief, | in right | of po|etry, | she claimed. The coun|try op|en lay | without | defence; For po|ets fre|quent in|roads there | had made, And per|fectly | could rep|resent The shape, | the face, | with ev|ery lin|eament, And all | the large | domains | which the | Dumb Sis|ter swayed; All bowed | beneath | her gov|ernment, Received | in tri|umph where|soe'er | she went. Her pen|cil drew | whate'er | her soul | designed, And oft | the hap|py draught | surpassed | the im|age in | her mind. The syl|van scenes | of herds | and flocks, And fruit|ful plains | and bar|ren rocks, Of shal|low brooks | that flowed | so clear, The bot|tom did | the top | appear; Of deep|er too | and am|pler floods, Which, as | in mir|rors, showed | the woods; Of lof|ty trees, | with sa|cred shades, And pèr|spectives of plea|sant glades, Where nymphs | of bright|est form | appear, And shag|gy sat|yrs stand|ing near, Which them | at once | admire | and fear. The ru|ins, too, | of some | majes|tic piece, Boasting | the power | of an|cient Rome | or Greece, Whose sta|tues, frie|zes, col|umns, bro|ken lie, And, though | defaced, | the won|der of | the eye; What na|ture, art, | bold fic|tion, e'er | durst frame, Her form|ing hand | gave fea|ture to | the name. So strange | a con|course ne'er | was seen | before, But when | the peo|pled ark | the whole | crea|tion bore.

(88-91, heroics; 92, 93, octosyllables; 94-96, heroics; 97, octosyllable; 98, Alexandrine; 99, 100, heroic; 101, octosyllable; 102, heroic; 103, Alexandrine; 104, octosyllable; 105, 106, heroics; 107, fourteener; 108-118, continuous octosyllables; 119-125, continuous heroics capped and finished off by 126, Alexandrine. In 97, probably "th' offence.")