Page:The rape of the lock.djvu/10

 to theſe Gentlemen, the four Elements are inhabited by Spirits, which they call Sylphs, Gnomes, Nymphs, and Salamanders. The Gnomes, or Dæmons of Earth, delight in Miſchief; but the Sylphs, whoſe Habitation is Air, are the beſt condition'd Creatures imaginable. For they ſay, any Mortals may enjoy the moſt intimate Familiarities with theſe gentle Spirits, upon a Condition very eaſie to all true Adepts, an inviolate Preſervation of Chaſtity.

As to the following Canto's, all the Paſſages of them are as Fabulous, as the Viſion at the Beginning, or the Transformation at the End; (except the Loſs of your Hair, which I always name with Reverence.) The Human Perſons are as Fictitious as the Airy ones; and the Character of