Classic Poem

ODE XXVIII

THE MUSICIANS;

TWO AMIABLE YOUNG WOMEN PLAYING SUCCESSIVELY ON THE HARPSICHORD .

I.

D ID Tagus flow beside my cot,
And warble soft o'er bed of gold,
Were I by whispering zephyr told,
That I should, in some favour'd spot,
Hear notes so pleasing, thither would I flee,
Nor warbling Tagus heed, to listen, fair, to thee.

II.

For me did blest Arabia's grove
Each sense-subduing sweet distill,
And soft melodious numbers fill
My ravish'd ear with notes of love,
That charm of numbers should not bind me long;
That charm, fair, would I break, to listen to thy song.

III.

Thus in a summer's gaudy day,
Oft have I heard a sportive train,
Young linnets chirp a tender strain,
And I well-pleas'd could listen to the lay;
Those pretty minstrels did more charm my ear
Than the full warblers of the vernal year.

IV.

For in each lovely fair I trace
Simplicity of virgin hue,
Freedom, and truth, and honour true,
The beauteous mother's open face,
The father's social heart I seem to view;
And therefore am I charm'd, musicians sweet, with you.

V.

'Tis mine to hear the transient strain,
And by that charm my ear is bound,
And I will treasure up the sound; —
But oh! how blest the swain,
When each sweet girl becomes the tender wife,
Who such musicians hear, who such may love thro' life!