WRITTEN IN "LETTERS OF AN ITALIAN NUN AND AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN,
BY J. J. ROUSSEAU; [1] FOUNDED ON FACTS."
"Away, away,--your flattering arts
May now betray some simpler hearts;
And _you_ will _smile_ at their believing,
And _they_ shall _weep_ at your deceiving."
[Footnote 1: A second edition of this work, of which the title is,
_Letters, etc., translated from the French of Jean Jacques Rousseau_,
was published in London, in 1784. It is, probably, a literary forgery.]
ANSWER TO THE FOREGOING, [i] ADDRESSED TO MISS----.
Dear simple girl, those flattering arts,
(From which thou'dst guard frail female hearts,)[ii]
Exist but in imagination,
Mere phantoms of thine own creation; [iii]
For he who views that witching grace,
That perfect form, that lovely face,
With eyes admiring, oh! believe me,
He never wishes to deceive thee:
Once in thy polish'd mirror glance [iv]
Thou'lt there descry that elegance
Which from our sex demands such praises,
But envy in the other raises.--
Then he who tells thee of thy beauty, [v]
Believe me, only does his duty:
Ah! fly not from the candid youth;
It is not flattery,--'tis truth. [vi]
July, 1804.
[Footnote i: _Answer to the above._ [4to] ]
[Footnote ii: _From which you'd._ [4to] ]
[Footnote iii:
_Mere phantoms of your own creation;
For he who sees_. [4to]]
[Footnote iv:
_Once let you at your mirror glance
You'll there descry that elegance,_ [4to]]
[Footnote v:
_Then he who tells you of your beauty._ [4to]]
[Footnote vi:
_It is not flattery, but truth_. [4to]]