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Alexander Pope - The Basset-Table
Work rating: Low

Cardelia.  Smilinda. 

Cardelia. 
The Basset-Table spread, the Tallier come;
Why stays Smilinda in the Dressing-Room?
Rise, pensive Nymph, the Tallier waits for you:

Smilinda. 
Ah, Madam, since my Sharper is untrue,
I joyless make my once ador`d Alpeu.
I saw him stand behind Ombrelia`s Chair, 
And whisper with that soft, deluding air,
And those feign`d sighs which cheat the list`ning Fair.

Cardelia.
Is this the cause of your Romantic strains?
A mightier grief my heavy heart sustains.
As You by Love, so I by Fortune cross`d;
One, one bad Deal, Three Septleva`s have lost.

Smilinda.
Is that the grief, which you compare with mine?
With ease, the smiles of Fortune I resign:
Would all my gold in one bad Deal were gone,
Were lovely Sharper mine, and mine alone.

Cardelia. 
A Lover is lost, is but a common care;
And prudent Nymphs against that change prepare:
The Knave of Clubs thrice lost: Oh! who could guess
This fatal stroke, this unforeseen Distress?

Smilinda.
See Betty Lovet! very a propos,
She all the cares of Love and Play does know:
Dear Betty shall th` important point decide;
Betty, who oft the pain of each has try`d;
Impartial, she shall say who suffers most,
By Cards` Ill Usage, or by Lover`s lost.

Lovet.
Tell, tell your griefs; attentive will I stay,
Tho` Time is precious, and I want some Tea.

Cardelia. 
Behold this Equipage, by Mathers wrought,
With Fifty Guineas (a great Pen`worth) bought.
See, on the Tooth-pick, Mars and Cupid strive;
And both the struggling figures seem alive.
Upon the bottom shines the Queen`s bright Face;
A Myrtle Foliage round the Thimble-Case.
Jove, Jove himself, does on the Scissors shine;
The Metal, and the Workmanship, divine!

Smilinda.
This Snuff-Box, — once the pledge of Sharper`s love,
When rival beauties for the Present strove;
At Corticelli`s he the Raffle won;
Then first his Passion was in public shown:
Hazardia blush`d, and turn`d her Head aside,
A Rival`s envy (all in vain) to hide.
This Snuff-Box,— on the Hinge see Brilliants shine:
This Snuff-Box will I stake; the Prize is mine.

Cardelia. 
Alas! far lesser losses than I bear,
Have made a Soldier sigh, a Lover swear.
And Oh! what makes the disappointment hard,
`Twas my own Lord that drew the fatal Card.
In complaisance, I took the Queen he gave;
Tho` my own secret wish was for the Knave.
The Knave won Sonica, which I had chose;
And, the next Pull, my Septleva I lose.

Smilinda.
But ah! what aggravates the killing smart,
The cruel thought, that stabs me to the heart;
This curs`d Ombrelia, this undoing Fair,
By whose vile arts this heavy grief I bear;
She, at whose name I shed these spiteful tears,
She owes to me the very charms she wears.
An awkward Thing, when first she came to Town;
Her Shape unfashion`d, and her Face unknown:
She was my friend; I taught her first to spread
Upon her sallow cheeks enliv`ning red:
I introduc`d her to the Park and Plays;
And, by my int`rest, Cozens made her Stays.
Ungrateful wretch, with mimic airs grown pert, 
She dares to steal my Fav`rite Lover`s heart.

Cardelia. 
Wretch that I was, how often have I swore,
When Winnall tally`d, I would punt no more?
I know the Bite, yet to my Ruin run;
And see the Folly, which I cannot shun.

Smilinda. 
How many Maids have Sharper`s vows deceiv`d?
How many curs`d the moment they believ`d?
Yet his known Falsehoods could no Warning prove:
Ah! what is warning to a Maid in Love?

Cardelia. 
But of what marble must that breast be form`d,
To gaze on Basset, and remain unwarm`d?
When Kings, Queens, Knaves, are set in decent rank;
Expos`d in glorious heaps the tempting Bank,
Guineas, Half-Guineas, all the shining train;
The Winner`s pleasure, and the Loser`s pain:
In bright Confusion open Rouleaux lie,
They strike the Soul, and glitter in the Eye.
Fir`d by the sight, all Reason I disdain;
My Passions rise, and will not bear the rein.
Look upon Basset, you who Reason boast;
And see if Reason must not there be lost.

Smilinda.
What more than marble must that heart compose,
Can hearken coldly to my Sharper`s Vows?
Then, when he trembles! when his Blushes rise!
When awful Love seems melting in his Eyes!
With eager beats his Mechlin Cravat moves:
`He Loves,` — I whisper to myself, `He Loves!`
Such unfeign`d Passion in his Looks appears,
I lose all Mem`ry of my former Fears;
My panting heart confesses all his charms,
I yield at once, and sink into his arms:
Think of that moment, you who Prudence boast;
For such a moment, Prudence well were lost.

Cardelia. 
At the Groom-Porter`s, batter`d Bullies play,
Some Dukes at Mary-Bone bowl Time away.
But who the Bowl, or ratt`ling Dice compares
To Basset`s heav`nly Joys, and pleasing Cares?

Smilinda.
Soft Simplicetta doats upon a Beau;
Prudina likes a Man, and laughs at Show. 
Their several graces in my Sharper meet;
Strong as the Footman, as the Master sweet.

Lovet.
Cease your contention, which has been too long;
I grow impatient, and the Tea`s too strong.
Attend, and yield to what I now decide;
The Equipage shall grace Smilinda`s Side:
The Snuff-Box to Cardelia I decree,
Now leave complaining, and begin your Tea.
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