Thus--till another autumn's glow
Shall bid another vintage flow.
[1] Madame Dacier thinks that the poet here had the nepenthe of Homer in
his mind. Odyssey, lib. iv. This nepenthe was a something of exquisite
charm, infused by Helen into the wine of her guests, which had the power
of dispelling every anxiety. A French writer, De Mere, conjectures that
this spell, which made the bowl so beguiling, was the charm of Helen's
conversation. See Bayle, art. Helene.
ODE LVII[1]
Whose was the artist hand that spread
Upon this disk the ocean's bed?
And, in a flight of fancy, high
As aught on earthly wing can fly,
Depicted thus, in semblance warm,
The Queen of Love's voluptuous form
Floating along the silvery sea
In beauty's naked majesty!
Oh! he hath given the enamoured sight
A witching banquet of delight,
Where, gleaming through the waters clear,
Glimpses of undreamt charms appear,
And all that mystery loves to screen,
Fancy, like Faith, adores unseen.[2]
Light as a leaf, that on the breeze
Of summer skims the glassy seas,
She floats along the ocean's breast,
Which undulates in sleepy rest;
While stealing on, she gently pillows
Her bosom on the heaving billows.
Her bosom, like the dew-washed rose,
Her neck, like April's sparkling snows,
Illume the liquid path she traces,
And burn within the stream's embraces.
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