248 MEMOIRS OF

Divine imprest their gentle sway,

And sweetly stole my soul away.

My guide, instructor, lover, friend,

(Dear names !) in one idea blend ;

O ! still conjoined, your incense rise,

And waft sweet odours to the skies.

AN ODE TO WISDOM. '

O PALLAS ! I invoke thy aid !

Vouchsafe to hear a wretched maid,

By tender love deprest ;

Tis just that thou should ' st heal the smart

Inflicted by thy subtle art,

And calm my troubled breast.

No random shot from Cupid ' s bow,

But by thy guidance, soft and slow,

It sunk within my heart ;

Thus, Love being arm ' d with Wisdom ' s force,

In vain I try to stop its course,

In vain repel the dart.

O Goddess ! break the fatal league,

Let Love, with Folly and Intrigue,

More fit associates find !

And thou alone, within my breast,

O ! deign to soothe my griefs to rest,

And heal my tortured mind.

Vanessa, besides musing over her unhappy attach

ment, had, during her residence in this solitude, the

care of nursing the declining health of her younger