[ 3 ] THE PROGRESS OF LOVE. IN FOUR ECLOGUE S. I. UNCERTAINTY. To Mr. PoP E. II. HOPE. To the Hon. GEORGE DODDINGTON. III. JEALOUSY. TO EDWARD WALPOLE, Efq; IV. POSSESSION. To the Right Hon. the Lord Viscount COBHAM. UNCERTAINTY. ECLOCUE I. To Mr. POPE. OPE, to whofe reed beneath the beachen fhade,' POPE, The Nymphs of Thames a pleas'd attention paid; While yet thy Muse, content with humbler praise, Warbled in Windfor's grove her sylvan lays; Though new, fublimely borne on Homer's wing, Of glorious wars and godlike chiefs she fing: Wilt thou with me revifit once again The crystal fountain, and the flowery plain? Wilt thou, indulgent, hear my verse relate The various changes of a lover's state; And, while each turn of paffion I pursue, Afk thy own heart if what I tell be true? To the green margin of a lonely wood, Whose pendent fshades o'erlook'd a filver flood, No fenfe of intereft could their mafter move, But, though his voice was mute, his looks complain'd; Ye nymphs, he cried, ye Dryads, who fo long "Have favor'd Damon, and inspir'd his song; "For whom, retir'd, I.fhun the gay reforts "Of Sportful cities, and of pompous courts; In vain I bid the restless world adieu, "To feek tranquillity and peace with you. "Though wild Ambition, and destructive Rage, "No factions here can form, no wars can wage: Though Envy frowns not on your humble shades "Nor Calumny your innocence invades : "Yet cruel Love, that troubler of the breaft, "Too often violates your boafted reft; "With inbred storms difturbs your calm retreat, "And taints with bitterness each rural fweet. "Ah luckless day! when firft with fond furprize "On Delia's face I fix'd my eager eyes! "Then.in wild tumults all my foul was toft, "Then reafon, liberty, at once were loft: "And |