And four fair Queens whofe hands fuftain a flow'r,
Th' expreffive emblem of their fofter pow'r;
Four Knaves in garbs fuccinct, a trusty band;
Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand;
And party-colour'd troops, a fhining train,
Draw forth to combat on the velvet plain.
The skilful Nymph reviews her force with care: Let Spades be trumps! fhe faid, and trumps they were. Now move to war her fable Matadores,
In fhow like leaders of the fwarthy Moors.
Spadillio firft, unconquerable Lord!
Led off two captive trumps, and swept the board.
As many more Manillio forc'd to yield,
And march'd a victor from the verdant field.
Him Bafto follow'd, but his fate more hard
Gain'd but one trump and one Plebeian card.
With his broad fabre next, a chief in
The hoary Majefty of Spades appears,
Puts forth one manly leg, to fight reveal'd,
The rest, his many-colour'd robe conceal'd.
The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage,
Proves the juft victim of his royal rage.
Ev'n mighty Pam, that Kings and Queens o'erthrew, And mow'd down armies in the fights of Lu,
Sad chance of war! now destitute of aid,
Falls undistinguish'd by the victor Spade!
VER. 53. Him Bafio follow'd,] The magnificent and majestic ftyle in which this game of cards is described, artfully and finely
Thus far both armies to Belinda yield;
Now to the Baron fate inclines the field.
His warlike Amazon her hoft invades,
Th' imperial confort of the crown of Spades.
The Club's black Tyrant first her victim dy'd,
Spite of his haughty mien, and barb'rous pride:
What boots the regal circle on his head,
His giant limbs, in ftate unwieldy spread;
That long behind he trails his pompous robe,
And, of all monarchs, only grafps the globe?
The Baron now his Diamonds pours apace;
Th' embroider'd King who fhews but half his face,
And his refulgent Queen, with pow'rs combin'd
Of broken troops an eafy conqueft find.
Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, in wild diforder feen,
With throngs promifcuous ftrow the level green.
VER. 65. Belinda yield;] It is finely contrived that the fhould be victorious; as it occafions a change of fortune in the dreadful loss she was speedily to undergo, and gives occasion to the Poet to introduce a moral reflection from Virgil, which adds to the pleasantry of the ftory In one of the paffages where Pope has copied Vida, he has loft the propriety of the original, which arises from the different colours of the men, at Chess.
Thus, when dispers'd, a routed army runs, &c.
"Non aliter, campis legio fe buxea utrinque
Compofuit, duplici digeftis ordine turmis,
Adversisque ambæ fulfere coloribus alæ ;
Quam Gallorum acies, Alpino frigore lactea
Corpora, fi tendant albis in prælia fignis,
Aurora populos contra, et Phaethonte peruftos
Infano Ethiopas, et nigri Memnonis alas."
Thus when difpers'd a routed army runs,
Of Afia's troops, and Afric's fable fons,
With like confusion different nations fly,
Of various habit, and of various die;
The pierc'd battalions disunited fall,
In heaps on heaps; one fate o'erwhelms them all.
The Knave of Diamonds tries his wily arts,
And wins (oh fhameful chance!) the Queen of Hearts.
At this, the blood the Virgin's cheek forfook,
A livid paleness spreads o'er all her look;
She fees, and trembles at th' approaching ill,
Juft in the jaws of ruin, and Codille.
And now (as oft in some diftemper'd State)
On one nice Trick depends the genʼral fate:
An Ace of Hearts steps forth: The King unfeen 95
Lurk'd in her hand, and mourn'd his captive Queen:
He fprings to vengeance with an eager pace,
And falls like thunder on the proftrate Ace.
The nymph exulting fills with fhouts the sky;
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply.
VER. 95. An Ace of Hearts fteps forth :] Nothing can exceed Pope's powers of defcription, as difplayed in this game of Cards. His mock-heroic paintings of the Kings, their enfigns, and characters, are inimitable. Warton in his Effay, speaking of Windfor Foreft, fays, defcriptive Poetry was by no means the fhining talent of Pope. Of rural objects Pope was not an able describer, as he could not be an accurate obferver; but in description of fcenes taken from artificial Life, his powers are very manifeft. This distinction should be always attended to, in estimating Pope's poetical character.
Oh thoughtless mortals! ever blind to fate,
Too foon dejected, and too foon elate.
Sudden these honours fhall be fnatch'd away,
And curs'd for ever this victorious day.
For lo! the board with cups and spoons is crown'd,
The berries crackle, and the mill turns round;
On fhining altars of Japan they raise
The filver lamp; the fiery spirits blaze :
From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide,
While China's earth receives the fmoaking tide:
At once they gratify their scent and taste,
And frequent cups prolong the rich repast.
Straight hover round the Fair her airy band;
Some, as the fipp'd, the fuming liquor fann'd,
Some o'er her lap their careful plumes difplay'd,
Trembling, and confcious of the rich brocade.
Coffee (which makes the politician wife,
And fee through all things with his half-fhut eyes)
in vapours to the Baron's brain
New Stratagems, the radiant Lock to gain.
VER. 105. Sudden the board, &c.] From hence, the first Edition continues to ver. 134.
"Nefcia mens hominum fati fortifque futuræ ;
Et fervare modum, rebus fublata fecundis !
Turno tempus erit magno cum optaverit emptum
Intactum Pallanta; et cum fpolia ista diemque
Oderit."
Ah cease, rafh youth! defift ere 'tis too late,
Fear the juft Gods, and think of Scylla's Fate!
Chang'd to a bird, and sent to flit in air,
She dearly pays for Nifus' injur'd hair!
But when to Mischief mortals bend their will,
How foon they find fit Instruments of ill?
Just then, Clarissa drew with tempting grace
A two-edg❜d weapon from her fhining cafe:
So Ladies in Romance affift their Knight,
Present the spear, and arm him for the fight.
He takes the gift with rev'rence, and extends
The little engine on his fingers' ends;
This juft behind Belinda's neck he spread,
As o'er the fragrant steams she bends her head.
Swift to the Lock a thousand Sprites repair,
A thousand wings, by turns, blow back the hair;
And thrice they twitch'd the diamond in her ear;
Thrice fhe look'd back, and thrice the foe drew near.
Just in that instant, anxious Ariel fought
The close receffes of the Virgin's thought:
As on the nofegay in her breast reclin❜d,
He watch'd th' ideas rifing in her mind,
Sudden he view'd, in spite of all her art,
An earthly Lover lurking at her heart.
VER. 134. In the first Edition it was thus,
As o'er the fragrant stream she bends her head.
VER. 122. and think of Scylla's Fate !] Vide Ovid's Me
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