John Codrington Bampfylde

Sonnet. On Having Dined at Trinity College, Oxford

October's flood had all deform'd the lea,
And wintry blasts the forest wide had rent,
When to the Muses Bower I blithsome went:
Pass'd the dank noon away in social glee
With full Repast, and Wine, and Jollity;
But when the friendly Eve her robe had sprent
Wide o'er the Meads, thither their footsteps bent,
To soften and refine our converse free,
Two nymph--like Maids, Phyllis and Chloe fair,
They, the melodious strings attuning sweet,
To Voice, and Verse divine, and Tuscan Air,
Banish'd loose thoughts, and lighted Love's pure flame.
If Pleasures chaste like these the breast can tame,
How well they fit the Muse's calm retreat!