Classic Poem

TO ANNA-LOUISA, ON HER ODE TO FANCY .

Say , child of Phaebus and the eldest Grace,
Whose lyre melodious, and enchanting face,
The blendid title of thy birth proclaim;
Say, lovely Naiad of Castalia's streams,
Why thus thy Muse on Fiction's pillow dreams,
And fondly woos the rainbow-mantled Dame?
When stern Misfortune, with her Gorgon frown,
Congeals the fairy face of Bliss to stone,
Hope to the horns of Fancy's altar flies;
But what gay nun would seek asylum there,
When Beauty, Love and Fortune crown the fair,
And Hymen's temple greets her raptured eyes?
Then haste, sweet nymph, to bless the ardent youth;
Then, Fancy, " blush to be excelled by Truth. "