midnight
Among other things I was particularly pleased with some elegies , in imitation of Tibullus ; one of which I beg leave to submit to the reader as a specimen of his complexion and capacity : -- Where now are all my flattering dreams of joy ? Monimia , give my soul her wonted rest ; -- Since first thy beauty fixed my roving eye , heart-gnawing cares corrode my pensive breast ! Let happy lovers fly where pleasures call , With festive songs beguile the fleeting hour , Lead beauty through the mazes of the ball , Or press her wanton in love 's roseate bower : For me , no more I 'll range the empurpled mead , Where shepherd 's pipe and virgins dance around , Nor wander through the woodbine 's fragrant shade , To hear the music of the grove resound . I 'll seek some lonely church , or dreary hall , Where fancy paints the glimmering taper blue , Where damps hang mouldering on the ivy 'd wall , And sheeted ghosts drink up the midnight dew , There , leagued with hopeless anguish and despair , A while in silence o'er my fate repair : Then , with a long farewell to love and care , To kindred dust my weary limbs consign . Wilt thou , Monimia , shed a gracious tear On the cold grave where all my sorrows rest ? Strew vernal flowers , applaud my love sincere , And bid the turf lie easy on my breast ? I was wonderfully affected with this pathetic complaint , which seemed so well calculated for my own disappointment in love , that I could not help attaching the idea of Narcissa to the name of Monimia , and of forming such melancholy presages of my passion , that I could not recover my tranquillity : and was fain to have recourse to the bottle , which prepared me for a profound sleep that I could not otherwise have enjoyed .