Hear then the Muse— Thou short-liv'd race, 



Urge not your fleeting hours away, 

 Crowd not with cares your little space ; 



Wise is the man who lives his day. 



George Dyer. 



la the 4«duLL. or marriage song, A»ac..on compares the brideto the ,«£.; 

 to that sort, I suppose, which has atnong us the common appellat.on of the Jfeta . ** 



To thee, the Queen* of nymphs divine, 

 Fairest of all that fairest shine! 

 To thee, thou blooming young Desire,f 

 Who ruVst the world with darts of fire! 

 And oh! thou Nuptial Tower, % to thee 

 Who bear st of life the guardian key ! 

 Breathing my soul in fragrant praise, 

 And weaving wild my votive lays, 

 To thee, Queen! I wake the lyre, 

 To thee, thou blushing young Desire! 

 And oh! for thee, thou Nuptial Power! 

 Come and illume this genial hour. 

 Look on thy bride, impassion'd boy! 

 And while thy lambent glance of joy 

 Plays over all her blushing charms, 

 Delay not; snatch her to thine arms, 

 Before the lovely, trembling prey, 

 Like a young birdling, wings away. 

 Oh, Statocles! impassion'd youth! 

 Dear to the Queen of amorous truth, 

 And dear to her, whose yielding zone 

 Will soon resign her all thine own ; 

 Turn to Myrilla, turn thine eye, 

 Breathe to Myrilla, breathe thy sigh! 

 To those bewitching beauties turn, 

 For thee they mantle, flush, and burn !— 

 Not more the Rose, the queen of flowers, 

 Out-blushes all the glow of bowers, 

 Than she unrivall'd bloom discloses, 

 The sweetest Rose, where all are Roses!— 

 Oh! may the Sun,§ benignant, shed 

 His blandest influence o'er thy bed ; 

 And foster there an infant tree, 



To blush like her, and look like thee. % 



Moore. 



+ CuDid X Hymen. § Apollo. 



* Venus * . £ J , * ' t v„ u pl 4 wrMm took home his wife in the dusk of the evening, accompanied 



V After the feast, which was held at ^ lf^^ ^ZlZllrc^, and music. In this way they were conducted to 

 by all the relatious on both stdes, and a «J rf ^* m ^ ^ ^ The attendants left the 



the marriage-chamber, where the bade washed her fee f^^JJ . aX J concluding with the wish of the inheritance of 

 room ; when the Epithalamium or Nuptial Song, was sung .n honour * *e P . 1 8 ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^^ 



children. The same ceremony was also m use among the Jews, rsalm al,v 6 



to the Rose of Sharon. 



