DAPHNIS AND CHLORIS.

FROM THE

TWENTY-SEVENTH IDYLLIUM OF THEOCRITUS.

THE

DAPHNIS.

HE shepherd Paris bore the Spartan bride
By force away, and then by force enjoyed;
But I by free consent can boast a bliss,
A fairer Helen, and a sweeter kiss.

CHLORIS.

Kisses are empty joys, and soon are o'er.

DAPHNIS.

A kiss betwixt the lips is something more.

CHLORIS.

I wipe my mouth, and where's your kissing then?

DAPHNIS.

I swear you wipe it to be kissed again.

CHLORIS.

Go, tend your herd, and kiss your cows at

home;

I am a maid, and in my beauty's bloom.

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10

DAPHNIS.

Tis well remembered; do not waste your

time,

But wisely use it ere you pass your prime.

CHLORIS.

Blown roses hold their sweetness to the last, And raisins keep their luscious native taste.

DAPHNIS.

The sun's too hot; those olive shades are

near;

I fain would whisper something in your ear.

CHLORIS.

"Tis honest talking where we may be seen; God knows what secret mischief you may

mean;

I doubt you'll play the wag, and kiss again.

DAPHNIS.

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At least beneath yon elm you need not fear; 20 My pipe's in tune, if you 're disposed to hear.

CHLORIS.

Play by yourself, I dare not venture thither; You, and your naughty pipe, go hang together.

DAPHNIS.

Coy nymph, beware, lest Venus you offend.

CHLORIS.

I shall have chaste Diana still to friend.

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DAPHNIS.

You have a soul, and Cupid has a dart.

CHLORIS.

Diana will defend, or heal my heart. Nay, fie, what mean you in this open place? Unhand me, or I swear I'll scratch your face. Let go for shame; you make me mad for spite; 30 My mouth's my own; and, if you kiss, I'll bite;

DAPHNIS.

Away with your dissembling female tricks; What, would you 'scape the fate of all your sex?

CHLORIS.

I swear, I'll keep my maidenhead till death, And die as pure as Queen Elizabeth.

DAPHNIS.

Nay, mum for that, but let me lay thee down Better with me, than with some nauseous clown.

CHLORIS.

I'd have you know, if I were so inclined, I have been woo'd by many a wealthy hind; But never found a husband to my mind.

DAPHNIS.

But they are absent all, and I am here.

CHLORIS.

The matrimonial yoke is hard to bear,
And marriage is a woful word to hear.

DAPHNIS.

A scarecrow, set to frighten fools away; Marriage has joys, and you shall have assay.

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CHLORIS.

Sour sauce is often mixed with our delight; You kick by day more than you kiss by night.

A

DAPHNIS.

Sham stories all; but say the worst you can, very wife fears neither God nor man.

CHLORIS.

But childbirth is, they say, a deadly pain; It costs at least a month to knit again.

DAPHNIS.

Diana cures the wounds Lucina made; Your goddess is a midwife by her trade.

CHLORIS.

But I shall spoil my beauty, if I bear.

DAPHNIS.

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But Mam and Dad are pretty names to hear. 55

CHLORIS.

But there's a civil question used of late; Where lies my jointure, where your own estate?

DAPHNIS.

My flocks, my fields, my woods, my pastures take,

With settlement as good as law can make.

CHLORIS.

Swear then you will not leave me on the

common,

But marry me, and make an honest woman.

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VOL. XII.

X

DAPHNIS.

I swear by Pan, though he wears horns you'll

say,

Cudgelled and kicked, I'll not be forced away.

CHLORIS.

I bargain for a wedding-bed at least,
A house, and handsome lodging for a guest.

DAPHNIS.

A house well furnished shall be thine to keep; And, for a flock-bed, I can shear my sheep.

CHLORIS.

What tale shall I to my old father tell?

DAPHNIS.

"Twill make him chuckle thou 'rt bestowed so

well.

CHLORIS.

But, after all, in troth I am to blame
To be so loving, ere I know your name;
A pleasant sounding name's a pretty thing.

DAPHNIS.

Faith, mine's a very pretty name to sing.
They call me Daphnis; Lycidas my sire;
Both sound as well as woman can desire.
Nomæa bore me; farmers in degree;
He a good husband, a good housewife she.

CHLORIS.

Your kindred is not much amiss, 'tis true; Yet I am somewhat better born than you.

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