Ah! how sweet it is to dream,
 When charming Iris is the Theme!

For such, I wish, my Damon, your sleeping and your waking Thoughts should render me to your Heart.

THREE o'CLOCK.

Capricious Suffering in Dreams.

It is but just to mix a little Chagrin with these Pleasures, a little Bitter with your Sweet; you may be cloy'd with too long an Imagination of my Favours: and I will have your Fancy in Dreams represent me to it, as the most capricious Maid in the World. I know, here you will accuse my Watch, and blame me with unnecessary Cruelty, as you will call it: but Lovers have their little Ends, their little Advantages, to pursue by Methods wholly unaccountable to all, but that Heart which contrives 'em: And, as good a Lover as I believe you, you will not enter into my Design at first sight; and tho', on reasonable Thoughts, you will be satisfied with this Conduct of mine, at its first Approach you will be ready to cry out—

The Request.

Oh Iris! let my sleeping Hours be fraught
 With Joys, which you deny my waking Thought.
 Is't not enough you absent are?
 Is't not enough I sigh all day,
 And lanquish out my Life in Care,
 To e'ery Passion made a Prey?
 I burn with Love, and soft Desire;
 I rave with Jealousy and Fear:
 All Day, for Ease, my Soul I tire;
 In vain I search it ev'ry where:
 It dwells not with the Witty or the Fair.
It is not in the Camp or Court,
 In Business, Musick, or in Sport;
 The Plays, the Park, and Mall afford
 No more than the dull Basset-board.
 The Beauties in the Drawing-room,
 With all their Sweetness, all their Bloom,
 No more my faithful Eyes invite,
 Nor rob my Iris of a Sigh or Glance,
 Unless soft Thoughts of her incite
 A Smile, or trivial Complaisance.
 Then since my Days so anxious prove,
 Ah, cruel Tyrant! give
 A little Loose to Joys in Love,
 And let your Damon live.
Let him in Dreams be happy made,
 And let his Sleep some Bliss provide:
 The nicest Maid may yield in Night's dark shade,
 What she so long by Day-light had deny'd.
 There let me think you present are,
 And court my Pillow for my Fair.
 There let me find you kind, and that you give
 All that a Man of Honour dares receive.
 And may my Eyes eternal Watches keep,
 Rather than want that Pleasure when I sleep.

Some such Complaint as this I know you will make; but, Damon, if the little Quarrels of Lovers render the reconciling Moments so infinitely charming, you must needs allow, that these little Chagrin in capricious Dreams must awaken you to more Joy to find 'em but Dreams, than if you had met with no Disorder there. 'Tis for this reason that I would have you suffer a little Pain for a coming Pleasure; nor, indeed is it possible for you to escape the Dreams my Cupid points you out. You shall dream that I have a thousand Foibles, something of the lightness of my Sex; that my Soul is employ'd in a thousand Vanities; that (proud and fond of Lovers) I make advances for the Glory of a Slave, without any other Interest or Design than that of being ador'd. I will give you leave to think my Heart fickle, and that, far from resigning it to any one, I lend it only for a Day, or an Hour, and take it back at pleasure; that I am a very Coquet, even to Impertinence.

All this I give you leave to think, and to offend me: but 'tis in sleep only that I permit it; for I would never pardon you the least Offence of this nature, if in any other Kind than in a Dream. Nor is it enough Affliction to you, to imagine me thus idly vain; but you are to pass on to a hundred more capricious Humours: as that I exact of you a hundred unjust Things; that I pretend you should break off with all your Friends, and for the future have none at all; that I will myself do those Things, which I violently condemn in you; and that I will have for others, as well as you, that tender Friendship that resembles Love, or rather that Love which People call Friendship; and that I will not, after all, have you dare complain on me.

In fine, be as ingenious as you please to torment your self; and believe, that I am become unjust, ungrateful, and insensible: But were I so indeed, O Damon! consider your awaking Heart, and tell me, would your Love stand the proof of all these Faults in me? But know, that I would have you believe I have none of these Weaknesses, tho' I am not wholly without Faults, but those will be excusable to a Lover; and this Notion I have of a perfect one:

Whate'er fantastick Humours rule the Fair,
 She's still the Lover's Dotage, and his Care.

FOUR o'CLOCK.

Jealousy in Dreams.

Do not think, Damon, to wake yet; for I design you shall yet suffer a little more: Jealousy must now possess you, that Tyrant over the Heart, that compels your very Reason, and seduces all your Good-Nature. And in this Dream you must believe That in sleeping, which you could not do me the injustice to do when awake. And here you must explain all my Actions to the utmost disadvantage: Nay, I will wish, that the Force of this Jealousy may be so extreme, that it may make you languish in Grief, and be overcome with Anger.

You shall now imagine, that one of your Rivals is with me, interrupting all you say, or hindering all you would say; that I have no Attention to what you say aloud to me, but that I incline mine Ear to hearken to all that he whispers to me. You shall repine, that he pursues me every where, and is eternally at your heels if you approach me; that I caress him with Sweetness in my Eyes, and that Vanity in my Heart, that possesses the Humours of almost all the Fair; that is, to believe it greatly for my Glory to have abundance of Rivals for my Lovers. I know you love me too well not to be extreamely uneasy in the Company of a Rival, and to have one perpetually near me; for let him be belov'd or not by the Mistress, it must be confess'd, a Rival is a very troublesome Person. But, to afflict you to the utmost, I will have you imagine that my Eyes approve of all his Thoughts; that they flatter him with Hopes; and that I have taken away my Heart from you, to make a Present of it to this more lucky Man. You shall suffer, while possess'd with this Dream, all that a cruel Jealousy can make a tender Soul suffer.

The Torment.

O Jealousy! thou Passion most ingrate!
 Tormenting as Despair, envious as Hate!
 Spightful as Witchcraft, which th' Invoker harms;
 Worse than the Wretch that suffers by its Charms.
 Thou subtil Poison in the Fancy bred, }
 Diffus'd thro' every Vein, the Heart and Head, }
 And over all, like wild Contagion spread. }
 Thou, whose sole Property is to destroy,
 Thou Opposite to Good, Antipathy to Joy;
 Whose Attributes are cruel Rage and Fire,
 Reason debauch'd, false Sense, and mad Desire.

In fine, it is a Passion that ruffles all the Senses, and disorders the whole Frame of Nature. It makes one hear and see what was never spoke, and what never was in view. 'Tis the Bane of Health and Beauty, an unmannerly Intruder; and an Evil of Life worse than Death. She is a very cruel Tyrant in the Heart; she possesses and pierces it with infinite Unquiets; and we may lay it down as a certain Maxim—

She that wou'd rack a Lover's Heart
 To the extent of Cruelty,
 Must his Tranquillity subvert
 To the most tort'ring Jealousy.

I speak too sensibly of this Passion, not to have lov'd well enough to have been touch'd with it: And you shall be this unhappy Lover Damon, during this Dream, in which nothing shall present it self to your tumultuous Thoughts, that shall not bring its Pain. You shall here pass and repass a hundred Designs, that shall confound one another. In fine, Damon, Anger, Hatred, and Revenge, shall surround your Heart.

There they shall all together reign
 With mighty Force, with mighty Pain;
 In spight of Reason, in contempt of Love:
 Sometimes by turns, sometimes united move.

FIVE o'CLOCK.

Quarrels in Dreams.

I perceive you are not able to suffer all this Injustice, nor can I permit it any longer: and tho' you commit no Crime yourself, yet you believe in this Dream, that I complain of the Injuries you do my Fame; and that I am extreamely angry with a Jealousy so prejudicial to my Honour. Upon this belief you accuse me of Weakness; you resolve to see me no more, and are making a thousand feeble Vows against Love. You esteem me as a false one, and resolve to cease loving the vain Coquet, and will say to me, as a certain Friend of yours said to his false Mistress:

The Inconstant.

Tho', Silvia, you are very fair,
 Yet disagreeable to me;
 And since you so inconstant are,
 Your Beauty's damn'd with Levity.
 Your Wit, your most offensive Arms,
 For want of Judgment, wants its Charms.
To every Lover that is new,
 All new and charming you surprize;
 But when your fickle Mind they view,
 They shun the danger of your Eyes.
 Should you a Miracle of Beauty show,
 Yet you're inconstant, and will still be so.

'Tis thus you will think of me: And in fine, Damon, during this Dream, we are in perpetual State of War.

Thus both resolve to break their Chain,
 And think to do't without much Pain,
 But Oh! alas! we strive in vain.
For Lovers, of themselves, can nothing do;
 There must be the Consent of two:
 You give it me, and I must give it you.

And if we shall never be free, till we acquit one another, this Tye between you and I, Damon, is likely to last as long as we live; therefore in vain you endeavour, but can never attain your End; and in conclusion you will say, in thinking of me:

Oh! how at ease my Heart would live,
 Could I renounce this Fugitive;
 This dear, but false, attracting Maid,
 That has her Vows and Faith betray'd!
 Reason would have it so, but Love
 Dares not the dang'rous Tryal prove.

Do not be angry then, for this afflicting Hour is drawing to an end, and you ought not to despair of coming into my absolute Favour again,

Then do not let your murm'ring Heart,
 Against my Int'rest, take your part.
 The Feud was rais'd by Dreams, all false and vain,
 And the next Sleep shall reconcile again.

SIX o'CLOCK.

Accommodation in Dreams.

Tho' the angry Lovers force themselves, all they can, to chase away the troublesom Tenderness of the Heart, in the height of their Quarrels, Love sees all their Sufferings, pities and redresses 'em: And when we begin to cool, and a soft Repentance follows the Chagrin of the Love-Quarrel, 'tis then that Love takes the advantage of both Hearts, and renews the charming Friendship more forcibly than ever, puts a stop to all our Feuds, and renders the peace-making Minutes the most dear and tender part of our Life. How pleasing 'tis to see your Rage dissolve! How sweet, how soft is every Word that pleads for pardon at my Feet! 'Tis there that you tell me, your very Sufferings are over paid, when I but assure you from my Eyes, that I will forget your Crime: And your Imagination shall here present me the most sensible of your past Pain, that you can wish; and that all my Anger being vanisht, I give you a thousand Marks of my Faith and Gratitude; and lastly, to crown all, that we again make new Vows to one another of inviolable Peace:

After these Debates of Love,
 Lovers thousand Pleasures prove,
 Which they ever think to taste,
 Tho' oftentimes they do not last.

Enjoy then all the Pleasures that a Heart that is very amorous, and very tender, can enjoy. Think no more on those Inquietudes that you have suffer'd; bless Love for his Favours, and thank me for my Graces: and resolve to endure any thing, rather than enter upon any new Quarrels. And however dear the reconciling Moments are, there proceeds a great deal of Evil from these little frequent Quarrels; and I think the best Counsel we can follow, is to avoid 'em as near as we can: And if we cannot, but that, in spite of Love and good Understanding, they should break out, we ought to make as speedy a Peace as possible; for 'tis not good to grate the Heart too long, lest it grow harden'd insensibly, and lose its native Temper. A few Quarrels there must be in Love: Love cannot support it self without 'em: and, besides the Joy of an Accommodation, Love becomes by it more strongly united, and more charming. Therefore let the Lover receive this as a certain Receipt against declining Love:

Love reconcil'd.

He that would have the Passion be
 Entire between the am'rous Pair,
 Let not the little Feuds of Jealousy
 Be carry'd on to a Despair:
 That palls the Pleasure he would raise;
 The Fire that he would blow, allays.
When Understandings false arise,
 When misinterpreted your Thought,
 If false Conjectures of your Smiles and Eyes
 Be up to baneful Quarrels wrought;
 Let Love the kind Occasion take,
 And straight Accommodations make.
The sullen Lover, long unkind,
 Ill-natur'd, hard to reconcile,
 Loses the Heart he had inclin'd;
 Love cannot undergo long Toil;
 He's soft and sweet, not born to bear
 The rough Fatigues of painful War.

SEVEN o'CLOCK.

Divers Dreams.

Behold, Damon, the last Hour of your Sleep, and of my Watch. She leaves you at Liberty now, and you may chuse your Dreams: Trust 'em to your Imaginations, give a Loose to Fancy, and let it rove at will, provided, Damon, it be always guided by a respectful Love. For thus far I pretend to give bounds to your Imagination, and will not have it pass beyond 'em: Take heed, in sleeping, you give no ear to a flatt'ring Cupid, that will favour your slumb'ring Minutes with Lyes too pleasing and vain: You are discreet enough when you are awake; will you not be so in Dreams?

Damon, awake; my Watch's Course is done: after this, you cannot be ignorant of what you ought to do during my Absence. I did not believe it necessary to caution you about Balls and Comedies; you know, a Lover depriv'd of his Mistress, goes seldom there. But if you cannot handsomely avoid these Diversions, I am not so unjust a Mistress, to be angry with you for it; go, if Civility, or other Duties oblige you: I will only forbid you, in consideration of me, not to be too much satisfy'd with those Pleasures; but see 'em so, as the World may have reason to say, you do not seek them, you do not make a Business or Pleasure of them; and that 'tis Complaisance, and not Inclination, that carries you thither. Seem rather negligent than concern'd at any thing there; and let every part of you say, Iris is not here—

I say nothing to you neither of your Duty elsewhere; I am satisfy'd you know it too well; and have too great a Veneration for your glorious Master, to neglect any part of that for even Love it self. And I very well know how much you love to be eternally near his illustrious Person; and that you scarce prefer your Mistress before him, in point of Love: In all things else, I give him leave to take place of Iris in the noble Heart of Damon.

I am satisfy'd you pass your time well now at Windsor, for you adore that Place; and 'tis not, indeed, without great reason: for 'tis most certainly now render'd the most glorious Palace in the Christian World. And had our late Gracious Sovereign, of blessed Memory, had no other Miracles and Wonders of his Life and Reign to have immortaliz'd his Fame (of which there shall remain a thousand to Posterity) this noble Structure alone, this Building (almost Divine) would have eterniz'd the great Name of Glorious Charles II. till the World moulder again to its old Confusion, its first Chaos. And the Paintings of the famous Varrio, and noble Carvings of the unimitable Gibbon, shall never die, but remain to tell succeeding Ages, that all Arts and Learning were not confin'd to antient Rome and Greece, but that England too could boast its mightiest Share. Nor is the Inside of this magnificent Structure, immortaliz'd with so many eternal Images of the illustrious Charles and Katharine, more to be admired than the wondrous Prospects without. The stupendous Heighth, on which the famous Pile is built, renders the Fields, and flowery Meads below, the Woods, the Thickets, and the winding Streams, the most delightful Object that ever Nature produc'd. Beyond all these, and far below, in an inviting Vale, the venerable College, an old, but noble Building, raises it self, in the midst of all the Beauties of Nature, high-grown Trees, fruitful Plains, purling Rivulets, and spacious Gardens, adorn'd with all Variety of Sweets that can delight the Senses.

At farther distance yet, on an Ascent almost as high as that to the Royal Structure, you may behold the famous and noble Clifdon rise, a Palace erected by the illustrious Duke of Buckingham, who will leave this wondrous Piece of Architecture, to inform the future World of the Greatness and Delicacy of his Mind; it being for its Situation, its Prospects, and its marvellous Contrivances, one of the finest Villa's of the World; at least, were it finish'd as begun; and would sufficiently declare the magnifick Soul of the Hero that caus'd it to be built, and contriv'd all its Fineness. And this makes up not the least part of the beautiful Prospect from the Palace Royal, while on the other side lies spread a fruitful and delightful Park and Forest well stor'd with Deer, and all that makes the Prospect charming; fine Walks, Groves, distant Valleys, Downs and Hills, and all that Nature could invent, to furnish out a quiet soft Retreat for the most fair and most charming of Queens, and the most Heroick, Good, and Just of Kings: And these Groves alone are fit and worthy to divert such earthly Gods.

Nor can Heaven, Nature, or human Art contrive an Addition to this earthly Paradise, unless those great Inventors of the Age, Sir Samuel Morland, or Sir Robert Gorden, cou'd by the power of Engines, convey the Water so into the Park and Castle, as to furnish it with delightful Fountains, both useful and beautiful. These are only wanting, to render the Place all Perfection, and without Exception.

This, Damon, is a long Digression from the Business of my Heart; but, you know I am so in love with that charming Court, that when you gave me an occasion, by your being there now, but to name the Place, I could not forbear transgressing a little, in favour of its wondrous Beauty; and the rather, because I would, in recounting it, give you to understand how many fine Objects there are, besides the Ladies that adorn it, to employ your vacant Moments in; and I hope you will, without my Instructions, pass a great part of your idle time in surveying these Prospects, and give that Admiration you should pay to living Beauty, to those more venerable Monuments of everlasting Fame.

Neither need I, Damon, assign you your waiting Times: your Honour, Duty, Love, and Obedience, will instruct you when to be near the Person of the King; and, I believe, you will omit no part of that Devoir. You ought to establish your Fortune and your Glory: for I am not of the mind of those critical Lovers, who believe it a very hard matter to reconcile Love and Interest, to adore a Mistress, and serve a Master at the same Time. And I have heard those, who on this Subject, say, Let a Man be never so careful in these double Duties, 'tis ten to one but he loses his Fortune or his Mistress. These are Errors that I condemn: And I know that Love and Ambition are not incompatible, but that a brave Man may preserve all his Duties to his Sovereign, and his Passion and his Respect for his Mistress. And this is my Notion of it.

Love and Ambition.

The nobler Lover, who would prove
 Uncommon in Address,
 Let him Ambition join with Love;
 With Glory, Tenderness:
 But let the Virtues so be mixt,
 That when to Love he goes,
 Ambition may not come betwixt,
 Nor Love his Power oppose.
The vacant Hours from softer Sport,
 Let him give up to Int'rest and the Court.
'Tis Honour shall his Bus'ness be,
 And Love his noblest Play:
 Those two should never disagree,
 For both make either gay.
 Love without Honour were too mean
 For any gallant Heart;
 And Honour singly, but a Dream,
 Where Love must have no Part.
 A Flame like this you cannot fear,
 Where Glory claims an equal Share.

Such a Passion, Damon, can never make you quit any Part of your Duty to your Prince. And the Monarch you serve is so gallant a Master, that the Inclination you have to his Person obliges you to serve him, as much as your Duty; for Damon's loyal Soul loves the Man, and adores the Monarch: for he is certainly all that compels both, by a charming Force and Goodness, from all Mankind.

The KING.

Darling of Mars! Bellona's Care!
 The second Deity of War!
 Delight of Heaven, and Joy of Earth!
 Born for great and wondrous things,
 Destin'd at his auspicious Birth
 T' out-do the num'rous Race of long-past Kings.
 Best Representative of Heaven,
 To whom its chiefest Attributes are given!
 Great, Pious, Stedfast, Just, and Brave!
 To Vengeance slow, but swift to save!
 Dispensing Mercy all abroad!
 Soft and forgiving as a God!
Thou saving Angel who preserv'st the Land
 From the just Rage of the avenging Hand;
 Stopt the dire Plague, that o'er the Earth was hurl'd,
 And sheathing thy Almighty Sword,
 Calm'd the wild Fears of a distracted World,
 (As Heaven first made it) with a sacred Word!

But I will stop the low Flight of my humble Muse, who when she is upon the wing, on this glorious Subject, knows no Bounds. And all the World has agreed to say so much of the Virtues and Wonders of this great Monarch, that they have left me nothing new to say; tho' indeed he every Day gives us new Themes of his growing Greatness, and we see nothing that equals him in our Age. Oh! how happy are we to obey his Laws; for he is the greatest of Kings, and the best of Men!

You will be very unjust, Damon, if you do not confess I have acquitted my self like a Maid of Honour, of all the Obligations I owe you, upon the account of the Discretion I lost to you. If it be not valuable enough, I am generous enough to make it good: And since I am so willing to be just, you ought to esteem me, and to make it your chiefest Care to preserve me yours; for I believe I shall deserve it, and wish you should believe so too. Remember me, write to me, and observe punctually all the Motions of my Watch: The more you regard it, the better you will like it; and whatever you think of it at first sight, 'tis no ill Present. The Invention is soft and gallant; and Germany, so celebrated for rare Watches, can produce nothing to equal this.

Damon, my Watch is just and new; }
 And all a Lover ought to do, }
 My Cupid faithfully will shew. }
 And ev'ry Hour he renders there,
 Except l'heure du Bergere.

The CASE for the WATCH.

DAMON to IRIS.

Expect not, Oh charming Iris! that I should chuse Words to thank you in; (Words, that least Part of Love, and least the Business of the Lover) but will say all, and every thing that a tender Heart can dictate, to make an Acknowledgment for so dear and precious a Present as this of your charming Watch: while all I can say will but too dully express my Sense of Gratitude, my Joy, and the Pleasure I receive in the mighty Favour. I confess the Present too rich, too gay, and too magnificent for my Expectation: and tho' my Love and Faith deserve it, yet my humbler Hope never durst carry me to a Wish of so great a Bliss, so great an Acknowledgment from the Maid I adore. The Materials are glorious, the Work delicate, and the Movement just, and even gives Rules to my Heart, who shall observe very exactly all that the Cupid remarks to me; even to the Minutes, which I will point with Sighs, tho' I am obliged to 'em there but every half Hour.

You tell me, fair Iris, that I ought to preserve it tenderly, and yet you have sent it me without a Case. But that I may obey you justly, and keep it dear to me, as long as I live, I will give it a Case of my Fashion: It shall be delicate, and suitable to the fine Present; of such Materials too. But because I would have it perfect, I will consult your admirable Wit and Invention in an Affair of so curious a Consequence.

The FIGURE of the CASE.

I design to give it the Figure of the Heart. Does not your Watch, Iris, rule the Heart? It was your Heart that contrived it, and 'twas your Heart you consulted in all the Management of it; and 'twas your Heart that brought it to so fine a Conclusion. The Heart never acts without Reason, and all the Heart projects, it performs with Pleasure.

Your Watch, my lovely Maid, has explain'd to me a World of rich Secrets of Love: And where should Thoughts so sacred be stored, but in the Heart, where all the Secrets of the Soul are treasur'd up, and of which only Love alone can take a view? 'Tis thence he takes his Sighs and Tears, and all his little Flatteries and Arts to please; all his fine Thoughts, and all his mighty Raptures; nothing is so proper as the Heart to preserve it, nothing so worthy as the Heart to contain it: and it concerns my Interest too much, not to be infinitely careful of so dear a Treasure: And believe me, charming Iris, I will never part with it.

The Votary.

Fair Goddess of my just Desire,
 Inspirer of my softest Fire!
 Since you, from out the num'rous Throng
 That to your Altars do belong,
 To me the Sacred Myst'ry have reveal'd,
 From all my Rival-Worshippers conceal'd;
 And toucht my Soul with heav'nly Fire,
 Refin'd it from its grosser Sense,
 And wrought it to a higher Excellence;
 It can no more return to Earth,
 Like things that thence receive their Birth;
 But still aspiring, upward move,
 And teach the World new Flights of Love;
 New Arts of Secrecy shall learn,
 And render Youth discreet in Love's Concern.
In his soft Heart, to hide the charming things
 A Mistress whispers to his Ear;
 And e'ery tender Sigh she brings,
 Mix with his Soul, and hide it there.
 To bear himself so well in Company,
 That if his Mistress present be,
 It may be thought by all the Fair,
 Each in his Heart does claim a Share,
 And all are more belov'd than she.
 But when with the dear Maid apart,
 Then at her Feet the Lover lies;
 Opens his Soul, shews all his Heart,
 While Joy is dancing in his Eyes.
 Then all that Honour may, or take, or give,
 They both distribute, both receive.
 A Looker-on wou'd spoil a Lover's Joy;
 For Love's a Game where only two can play.
 And 'tis the hardest of Love's Mysteries,
 To feign Love where it is not, hide it where it is.

After having told you, my lovely Iris, that I design to put your Watch into a Heart, I ought to shew you the Ornaments of the Case. I do intend to have 'em crown'd Cyphers: I do not mean those Crowns of Vanity, which are put indifferently on all sorts of Cyphers; no, I must have such as may distinguish mine from the rest, and may be true Emblems of what I would represent. My four Cyphers therefore shall be crown'd with these four Wreaths, of Olive, Laurel, Myrtle, and Roses: and the Letters that begin the Names of Iris and Damon shall compose the Cyphers; tho' I must intermix some other Letters that bear another Sense, and have another Signification.

The First CYPHER.

The first Cypher is compos'd of an I and a D, which are join'd by an L and an E; which signifies Love Extreme. And 'tis but just, Oh adorable Iris! that Love should be mixt with our Cyphers, and that Love alone should be the Union of 'em.

Love ought alone the Mystick Knot to tie;
 Love, that great Master of all Arts:
 And this dear Cypher is to let you see,
 Love unites Names as well as Hearts.

Without this charming Union, our Souls could not communicate those invisible Sweetnesses, which compleat the Felicity of Lovers, and which the most tender and passionate Expressions are too feeble to make us comprehend. But, my adorable Iris, I am contented with the vast Pleasure I feel in loving well, without the care of expressing it well; if you will imagine my Pleasure, without expressing it: For I confess, 'twould be no Joy to me to adore you, if you did not perfectly believe I did adore you. Nay, tho' you lov'd me, if you had no Faith in me, I should languish, and love in as much Pain, as if you scorn'd; and at the same time believ'd I dy'd for you: For surely, Iris, 'tis a greater Pleasure to please than to be pleas'd; and the glorious Power of Giving is infinitely a greater Satisfaction, than that of Receiving: there is so Great and God-like a Quality in it. I would have your Belief therefore equal to my Passion, extreme; as indeed all Love should be, or it cannot bear that Divine Name: it can pass but for an indifferent Affection. And these Cyphers ought to make the World find all the noble Force of delicate Passion: for, Oh my Iris! what would Love signify, if we did not love fervently? Sisters and Brothers love; Friends and Relations have Affections: but where the Souls are join'd, which are fill'd with eternal soft Wishes, Oh! there is some Excess of Pleasure, which cannot be express'd!

Your Looks, your dear obliging Words, and your charming Letters, have sufficiently persuaded me of your Tenderness; and you might surely see the Excess of my Passion by my Cares, my Sighs, and entire Resignation to your Will. I never think of Iris, but my Heart feels double Flames, and pants and heaves with double Sighs; and whose Force makes its Ardours known, by a thousand Transports: And they are very much to blame, to give the Name of Love to feeble easy Passions. Such transitory tranquil Inclinations are at best but Well-wishers to Love; and a Heart that has such Heats as those, ought not to put it self into the Rank of those nobler Victims that are offer'd at the Shrine of Love. But our Souls, Iris, burn with a more glorious Flame, that lights and conducts us beyond a Possibility of losing one another. 'Tis this that flatters all my Hopes; 'tis this alone makes me believe my self worthy of Iris: And let her judge of its Violence, by the Greatness of its Splendour.

Does not a Passion of this nature, so true, so ardent, deserve to be crown'd? And will you wonder to see, over this Cypher, a Wreath of Myrtles, those Boughs so sacred to the Queen of Love, and so worshipp'd by Lovers? 'Tis with these soft Wreaths, that those are crown'd, who understand how to love well and faithfully.

The Smiles, the Graces, and the Sports,
 That in the Secret Groves maintain their Courts,
 Are with these Myrtles crown'd:
 Thither the Nymphs their Garlands bring;
 Their Beauties and their Praises sing,
 While Echoes do the Songs resound.
Love, tho' a God, with Myrtle Wreaths
 Does his soft Temples bind;
 More valu'd are those consecrated Leaves,
 Than the bright Wealth in Eastern Rocks confin'd:
 And Crowns of Glory less Ambition move,
 Than those more sacred Diadems of Love.

The Second CYPHER,

Is crown'd with Olives; and I add to the two Letters of our Names an R and an L, for Reciprocal Love. Every time that I have given you, O lovely Iris, Testimonies of my Passion, I have been so blest, as to receive some from your Bounty; and you have been pleased to flatter me with a Belief, that I was not indifferent to you. I dare therefore say, that being honour'd with the Glory of your Tenderness and Care, I ought, as a Trophy of my illustrious Conquest, to adorn the Watch with a Cypher that is so advantageous to me. Ought I not to esteem my self the most fortunate and happy of Mankind, to have exchanged my Heart with so charming and admirable a Person as Iris? Ah! how sweet, how precious is the Change; and how vast a Glory arrives to me from it! Oh! you must not wonder if my Soul abandon it self to a thousand Extasies! In the Merchandize of Hearts, Oh, how dear it is to receive as much as one gives; and barter Heart for Heart! Oh! I would not receive mine again, for all the Crowns the Universe contains! Nor ought you, my Adorable, make any Vows or Wishes, ever to retrieve yours; or shew the least Repentance for the Blessing you have given me. The Exchange we made, was confirm'd by a noble Faith; and you ought to believe, you have bestow'd it well, since you are paid for it a Heart that is so conformable to yours, so true, so just, and so full of Adoration: And nothing can be the just Recompence of Love, but Love: and to enjoy the true Felicity of it, our Hearts ought to keep an equal Motion; and, like the Scales of Justice, always hang even.

'Tis the Property of Reciprocal Love, to make the Heart feel the Delicacy of Love, and to give the Lover all the Ease and Softness he can reasonably hope. Such a Love renders all things advantageous and prosperous: Such a Love triumphs over all other Pleasures. And I put a Crown of Olives over the Cypher of Reciprocal Love, to make known, that two Hearts, where Love is justly equal, enjoy a Peace that nothing can disturb.

Olives are never fading seen;
 But always flourishing, and green.
 The Emblem 'tis of Love and Peace; }
 For Love that's true, will never cease: }
 And Peace does Pleasure still increase. }
 Joy to the World, the Peace of Kings imparts;
 And Peace in Love distributes it to Hearts.

The Third CYPHER.

The C and the L, which are join'd to the Letters of our Names in this Cypher crown'd with Laurel, explains a Constant Love. It will not, my fair Iris, suffice, that my Love is extreme, my Passion violent, and my Wishes fervent, or that our Loves are reciprocal; but it ought also to be constant: for in Love, the Imagination is oftner carried to those things that may arrive, and which we wish for, than to things that Time has robbed us of. And in those agreeable Thoughts of Joys to come, the Heart takes more delight to wander, than in all those that are past; tho' the Remembrance of 'em be very dear, and very charming. We should be both unjust, if we were not persuaded we are possest with a Virtue, the Use of which is so admirable as that of Constancy. Our Loves are not of that sort that can finish, or have an end; but such a Passion, so perfect, and so constant, that it will be a Precedent for future Ages, to love perfectly; and when they would express an extreme Passion, they will say, They lov'd, as Damon did the charming Iris. And he that knows the Glory of constant Love, will despise those fading Passions, those little Amusements, that serve for a Day. What Pleasure or Dependance can one have in a Love of that sort? What Concern? What Raptures can such an Amour produce in a Soul? And what Satisfaction can one promise one's self in playing with a false Gamester; who tho' you are aware of him, in spite of all your Precaution, puts the false Dice upon you, and wins all?

Those Eyes that can no better Conquest make,
 Let 'em ne'er look abroad:
 Such, but the empty Name of Lovers take,
 And so profane the God.
Better they never should pretend,
 Than, ere begun, to make an end.
Of that fond Flame what shall we say,
 That's born and languisht in a Day?
 Such short-liv'd Blessings cannot bring
 The Pleasure of an Envying.
 Who is't will celebrate that Flame,
 That's damn'd to such a scanty Fame?
 While constant Love the Nymphs and Swains }
 Still sacred make, in lasting Strains }
 And chearful Lays throughout the Plains. }
A constant Love knows no Decay: }
 But still advancing ev'ry Day, }
 Will last as long as Life can stay, }
 With ev'ry Look and Smile improves, }
 With the same Ardour always moves, }
 With such as Damon charming Iris loves! }

Constant Love finds it self impossible to be shaken; it resists the Attacks of Envy, and a thousand Accidents that endeavour to change it: Nothing can disoblige it but a known Falseness, or Contempt: Nothing can remove it; tho' for a short moment it may lie sullen and resenting, it recovers, and returns with greater Force and Joy. I therefore, with very good reason, crown this Cypher of Constant Love with a Wreath of Laurel; since such Love always triumphs over Time and Fortune, tho' it be not her Property to besiege: for she cannot overcome, but in defending her self; but the Victories she gains are never the less glorious.