Poems Upon Several Occasions

To the Reader. [Bridget Freemantle]

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The Author of the following Poems was taken from the World at the time when she first began to meet with Encouragement to print them, and, in Compliance with her dying Request, they are now published for the Benefit of her Father, who is desirous to make use of this Opportunity of returning his humble Thanks to the Subscribers for the Favour they have been pleased to shew him.

The short Account which as been given of Mrs. Leapor, with the Proposals for Subscription, it is is hop'd, will sufficiently apologize for the Defects that shall be found in this Collection. Had she lived to correct and finish these first Productions of a young unassisted Genius, certainly they would have been greatly improved, tho', as they now appear in their native Simplicity, they cannot surely but afford an agreeable Entertainment to the Reader, and serve as a convincing Proof of the common Aphorism, Poeta nascitur, non fit.

Mrs. Leapor from a Child delighted in reading, and particularly Poetry, but had few Opportunities of procuring any Books of that kind. The Author

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she most admired was Mr. Pope, whom she chiefly endeavoured to imitate; how far she succeeded in this, or any other of her Attempts, must be left to the Judgment of the Publick. And indeed if the Poems will not recommend themselves to the Reader, little Advantage is to be expected from any thing that can be said of them here; but, in Justice to the Memory of the Author, as well as for the Satisfaction of all those who have so chearfully and generously contributed to improve the best Legacy she could bequeath to her Father, we beg leave to inform them, that her Conduct and Behaviour entirely corresponded with those virtuous and pious Sentiments which are conspicuous in her Poems. She was courteous and obliging to all, chearful, good-natured, and contented in the Station of Life in which Providence had placed her. The generous and charitable Spirit that appeared in her was exerted upon all Occasions to the utmost of her Ability, and was such as would have been ornamental in a much higher Sphere, to which in all Probablility, if it had pleased God to spare her Life, her own Merit would have raised her.

Some of her Papers, a little time before her Death, were communicated to several Persons of Rank and of distinguished Taste and Judgment, who were pleased to express a great Satisfaction in the View they had of promoting a Subscription for their being printed, and by that means encouraging her to proceed in a Science so agreeable to herself, and entertaining to them; but her Friends are now left to lament her Loss, and that so great a Part of a short and valuable Life was spent in Obscurity.

The Contents

[Preface]

Dorinda at her Glass. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page I
Mira's Will. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 8
The Friend in Disgrace. A Dialogue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 10
An Ode on Mercy: In Imitation of Part of the 145th Psalm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 12
The Beauties of Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 15
Damon and Strephon. A Pastoral Complaint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 18
A Summer's Wish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 21
A Hymn to the Morning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 23
Colinetta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 26
The Linnet and the Goldfinch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 31
The Month of August. Sylvanus, a Courtier, Phillis, a Country Maid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 34
An Epistle to a Lady. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 38
The Proclamation of Apollo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 41
The Fall of Lucia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 48
The Crucifixion and Resurrection. An Ode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 50
The Third Chapter of the Wisdom of Solomon. From the First to the Sixth Verse.. . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 52
An Essay on Happiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 54
An Essay on Hope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 60
The Moral Vision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 65
A Prayer for the Year 1745. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 69
David's Complaint, ii Samuel, chap. I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 72
An Essay on Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 74
The Mistaken Lover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 81
The Way of the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 90
The Fox and the Hen. A Fable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 97
The Head-ach. To Aurelia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 101
Strephon to Celia. A modern Love-Letter.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 104
To Artemesia. Dr. King's Invitation to Bellvill: Imitated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 106
The Apparition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 108
The inspir'd Quill. Occasion'd by a present of Pens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 111
The Penitent. Occasion'd by the Author's being asked
if she would take Ten Pounds for her Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 118
Song to Cloe, playing on her Spinet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 120
To Grammaticus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 122
The Ten-Penny-Nail. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 125
The Genius in Disguise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 131
Celadon to Mira. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 136
On Mr. Pope's Universal Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 142
The Fields of Melancholy and Chearfulness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 145
The Libyan Hunter, a Fable. Inscrib'd to the Memory of a late admir'd Author. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 153
The Temple of Love. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 162
Advice to Myrtillo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 167
On Discontent. To Stella. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 170
The Proposal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 173
Soto; A Character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 175
The Universal Dream. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 177
The Sow and the Peacock. A Fable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 179
Florimelia, the First Pastoral. By Mr. Newton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 183
[not yet finished]

The Works of Mary Leapor