Page:Hero and Leander; a poem (IA heroleanderpoem00musa).pdf/17

 Drop'd her protective curtain; thence thine eye Guide to Abydos' hallow'd shore, which still Sighs o'er Leander's love, and mourns his fate.

Whence sprang the perilous ardor? why forsake Thy country's dear asylum? how intrance With magic of persuasion Hero's soul?

Hero fair Priestess of celestial race Adorn'd the mystic rites of Beauty's Queen, Unconscious yet of love; th'encircling Deep View'd her embosom'd in her native Tow'r, And hail'd this other Venus; Prudence taught Her bloom of youth, far from the virgin-train, To wooe the solemn mansion; the wild rout Of lavish merriment ne'er charm'd her steps To join the sestive choir; the sex, she grac'd, Ne'er prov'd her matchless excellence, or lowr'd The leering glance of Envy; Fiend, that blasts Each virtue blooming in the female soul. Thee, Cytherea, and thy trait'rous Boy With many a gift she sues, thy altar crowns With many a rich libation, to appease