O Florestan! blest as thou dost deserve, To thee the Fates are kind, without reserve. My joys are not so full; though Love would yield, FierceHonour stands his ground, and keeps the field; Nature within seduc'd, in vain befriends, While Honour, with his guard of Pride, defends : O Nature! frail, and faulty in thy frame, Fomenting wishes, Honour must condemn; Or O! too rigid Honour, thus to bind, When Nature prompts, and when Desire is kind. Enter ARCABON conducting CONSTANTIUS, her garments loose, and hair dishevelled, seeming frantic. CONSTANTIUS in deep mourning. ARCABON. This Roman, is the place: 'Tis magic ground, Each was disdain'd; to equal rage resign A chariot descends swiftly, into which she enters at the following lines. Up to th' etherial Heavens, where gods reside, A clap of thunder. The chariot mounts in the air, and vanishes with her. CONSTANTIUS. Fly where thou wilt, but not to blest abodes, For sure, where-e'r thou art, there are no gods. [Addressing himself to Oriana. I come not here an object to affright, URGANDA. What cruel destiny on Beauty waits, When on one face depends so many fates! CONSTANTIUS. Make room, ye Decii, whose devoted breath Secur'd your country's happiness by death; I come a sacrifice no less renown'd, Oriana weeps, and shews concern; Amadis addressing himself to Constantius. AMADIS. Were Fortune us'd to smile upon desert, Love had been yours, to die had been my part: Thus Fate divides the prize; though Beauty's mine, Yet Fame, our other mistress, is more thine. [Constantius looking sternly upon him. Disdain not, gallant prince, a rival's praise, Whom your high worth thus humbles to confess In every thing but love, he merits less. CONSTANTIUS. Art thou that rival then? O killing shame! And has he view'd me thus, so weak, so tame? Like a scorn'd captive prostrate at his side, To grace his triumph, and delight his pride? O'tis too much! and Nature in disdain Turns back from death, and, firing every vein, Reddens with rage, and kindles life again. Be firm my soul, quick from this scene remove, Or nadness else may be too strong for love. Spent as I am, and wearied with the weight Of burthening life-I could reverse my fate. Thus planted-stand thy everlasting barSieres him, holding a dagger at his breast; Amadis does the same, each holding a dagger ready to strike. But for Oriana's sake 'tis better here. Stabs himself; Amadis throus away his dagger, and supports him; they all help. Fre yon bright beams are shadow'd o'er with night, Urganda conducts Amadis, Oriana, &c. to a seat First voice. Make room for the combat, make room; A fairer than Venus prepares Second voice. Give the word to begin, The challenger enters all glorious; Though Beauty may bleed, Yet Beauty shall still be victorious. CHORUS. Make room for the combat, make room; Here two parties enter from the opposite sides of the To be sung. Help! help! th' unpractis'd conqu'ror cries; Again, again, help! help! she cries He faints, he falls, help! help! Ah me! he dies. Dance of heroes and heroines. Then singers again come forward. To be sung. Of sweet possessing; RIGHT HONOURABLE JOSEPH ADDISON, ESQ; WHEN Orpheus tun'd his pipe with pleasing woe, That this night's strains the same success may find, The same dull sights in the same landskip mixt, But howsoc'er to please your wand'ring eyes, Bright objects disappear, and brighter rise: There's none can make amends for lost delight, While from that circle we divert your sight. END OF LANSDOWNE'S POEMS. 1 The ladies. THE LIFE OF YALDEN, BY DR. JOHNSON. THOMAS YALDEN, the sixth son of Mr. John Yalden, of Sussex, was born in the city of Exeter in 1671. Having been educated in the grammar-school belonging to Magdalen College in Oxford, he was in 1690, at the age of nineteen, admitted commoner of Magdalen Hall, under the tuition of Josiah Pullen, a man whose name is still remembered in the university. He became next year one of the scholars of Magdalen College, where he was distinguished by a lucky accident. It was his turn, one day, to pronounce a declamation; and Dr. Hough, the president, happening to attend, thought the composition too good to be the speaker's. Some time after, the doctor finding him a little irregularly busy in the library, set him an exercise for punishment; and, that he might not be deceived by any artifice, locked the door. Yalden, as it happened, had been lately reading on the subject given, and produced with little difficulty a composition which so pleased the president, that he told him his former suspicions, and promised to favour him. Among his contemporaries in the college were Addison and Sacheverell, men who were in those times friends, and who both adopted Yalden to their intimacy. Yalden continued, throughout his life, to think as probably he thought at first, yet did not forfeit the friendship of Addison. There never was When Namur was taken by king William, Yalden made an ode. any reign more celebrated by the poets than that of William, who had very little regard for song himself, but happened to employ ministers, who pleased themselves with the praise of patronage. Of this ode mention is made in a humourous poem of that time, called The Oxford Laureat; in which, after many claims had been made and rejected, Yalden is represented as demanding the laurel, and as being called to his trial, instead of receiving a reward. His crime was for being a felon in verse, And presenting his theft to the king; But the last was an impudent thing: Yet what he had stol'n was so little worth stealing, They forgave him the damage and cost; Had he ta en the whole ode, as he took it piece-mealing, |