On a bank with roses shaded,
  Whose sweet scent the violets aided,
  Violets whose breath alone
  Yields but feeble smell or none,
  (Sweeter bed Jove ne’er repos’d on
  When his eyes Olympus closed on,)
  While o’er head six slaves did hold
  Canopy of cloth o’ gold,
  And two more did music keep,
  Which might Juno lull to sleep,
  Oriana who was queen
  To the mighty Tamerlane,
  That was lord of all the land
  Between Thrace and Samarchand,
  While the noon-tide fervor beam’d,
  Mused herself to sleep, and dream’d.

    Thus far, in magnific strain,
  A young poet sooth’d his vein,
  But he had nor prose nor numbers
  To express a princess’ slumbers.—­
  Youthful Richard had strange fancies,
  Was deep versed in old romances,
  And could talk whole hours upon
  The great Cham and Prester John,—­
  Tell the field in which the Sophi
  From the Tartar won a trophy—­
  What he read with such delight of,
  Thought he could as eas’ly write of—­
  But his over-young invention
  Kept not pace with brave intention. 
  Twenty suns did rise and set,
  And he could no further get;
  But, unable to proceed,
  Made a virtue out of need,
  And, his labours wiselier deem’d of,
  Did omit what the queen dream’d of.

ON A PICTURE OF THE FINDING OF MOSES BY PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER

  This Picture does the story express
  Of Moses in the Bulrushes. 
  How livelily the painter’s hand
  By colours makes us understand!

    Moses that little infant is. 
  This figure is his sister.  This
  Fine stately lady is no less
  A personage than a princess,
  Daughter of Pharaoh, Egypt’s king;
  Whom Providence did hither bring
  This little Hebrew child to save. 
  See how near the perilous wave
  He lies exposed in the ark,
  His rushy cradle, his frail bark! 
  Pharaoh, king of Egypt land,
  In his greatness gave command
  To his slaves, they should destroy
  Every new-born Hebrew boy. 
  This Moses was an Hebrew’s son. 
  When he was born, his birth to none
  His mother told, to none reveal’d,
  But kept her goodly child conceal’d. 
  Three months she hid him; then she wrought
  With Bulrushes this ark, and brought
  Him in it to this river’s side,
  Carefully looking far and wide
  To see that no Egyptian eye
  Her ark-hid treasure should espy. 
  Among the river-flags she lays
  The child.  Near him his sister stays. 
  We may imagine her affright,
  When the king’s daughter is in sight. 
  Soon the princess will perceive
  The ark among the flags, and give
  Command to her attendant maid
  That its contents shall be display’d. 
  Within the ark the child is found,
  And now he utters mournful sound.