[Page 171]

An EPISTLE from a Gentleman to Madam Deshouliers, returning Money she had lent him at Bassette, upon the first Day of their Acquaintance.

Translated with Liberty from the French.

1 URANIA, whom the Town admires,
2 Whose Wit and Beauty share our Praise,
3 This fair URANIA who inspires
4 A thousand Joys a thousand ways,
5 She, who cou'd with a Glance convey
6 Favours, that had my Hopes outdone,
7 Has lent me Money on that Day,
8 Which our Acquaintance first begun.
[Page 172]
9 Nor with the Happiness I taste,
10 Let any jealous Doubts contend:
11 Her Friendship is secure to last,
12 Beginning where all others end.
13 And thou, known Cheat! upheld by Law,
14 Thou Disappointer of the craving Mind,
15 BASSETTE, who thy Original dost draw
16 From Venice (by uncertain Seas confin'd);
17 Author of Murmurs, and of Care,
18 Of pleasing Hopes, concluding in Despair:
19 To thee my strange Felicity I owe,
20 From thy Oppression did this Succour flow.
21 Less had I gain'd, had'st thou propitious been,
22 Who better by my Loss hast taught me how to Win.
23 Yet tell me, my transported Brain!
24 (whose Pride this Benefit awakes)
25 Know'st thou, what on this Chance depends?
26 And are we not exalted thus in vain,
[Page 173]
27 Whilst we observe the Money which she lends,
28 But not, alas! the Heart she takes,
29 The fond Engagements, and the Ties
30 Her fatal Bounty does impose,
31 Who makes Reprisals, with her Eyes,
32 For what her gen'rous Hand bestows?
33 And tho' I quickly can return
34 Those useful Pieces, which she gave;
35 Can I again, or wou'd I have
36 That which her Charms have from me borne?
37 Yet let us quit th' obliging Score;
38 And whilst we borrow'd Gold restore,
39 Whilst readily we own the Debt,
40 And Gratitude before her set
41 In its approv'd and fairest Light;
42 Let her effectually be taught
43 By that instructive, harmless Slight,
44 That also in her turn she ought
45 (Repaying ev'ry tender Thought)
46 Kindness with Kindness to requite.

Text

  • TEI/XML [chunk] (XML - 94K / ZIP - 11K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 1.8K / ZIP - 1.2K)

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Buxton 100].)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 3.9M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): An EPISTLE from a Gentleman to Madam Deshouliers, returning Money she had lent him at Bassette, upon the first Day of their Acquaintance. Translated with Liberty from the French.
Themes:
Genres: epistle; translation

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Winchilsea, Anne Kingsmill Finch, Countess of, 1661-1720. Miscellany poems, on several occasions: Written by the Right Honble Anne, Countess of Winchilsea. London: printed for J. B. and sold by Benj. Tooke, William Taylor, and James Round, 1713, pp. 171-173. [8],390p. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T94539; Foxon pp. 274-5; OTA K076314.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Buxton 100].)

Editorial principles

The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Anne Finch (née Kingsmill), countess of Winchilsea