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Drop'd her protective curtain; thence thine eye
Guide to Abydos' hallow'd shore, which still
Sighs o'er Leander's love, and mourns his fate.
Whence sprang the perilous ardor? why forsake
Thy country's dear asylum? how intrance
With magic of persuasion Hero's soul?
Hero fair Priestess of celestial race
Adorn'd the mystic rites of Beauty's Queen,
Unconscious yet of love; th'encircling Deep
View'd her embosom'd in her native Tow'r,
And hail'd this other Venus; Prudence taught
Her bloom of youth, far from the virgin-train,
To wooe the solemn mansion; the wild rout
Of lavish merriment ne'er charm'd her steps
To join the sestive choir; the sex, she grac'd,
Ne'er prov'd her matchless excellence, or lowr'd
The leering glance of Envy; Fiend, that blasts
Each virtue blooming in the female soul.
Thee, Cytherea, and thy trait'rous Boy
With many a gift she sues, thy altar crowns
With many a rich libation, to appease
The
