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Page:The Amyntas of Tasso (1770) - Percival Stockdale.djvu/139

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AMYNTAS.
107
Away she ran, swift as a hunted deer;
As if she just had left the frightful Satyr,
And not Amyntas, her obsequious lover.

CHORUS.
Why did the fly so fast?

THYRSIS.
Her niggard soul
Rather to flight her safety chose to owe,
Than to her shepherd's generosity.

CHORUS.
Another mark of her ingratitude!
But tell us how your hapless friend resented
This humour, such as ne'er before I heard of.

THYRSIS.
Alas! I know not; for impelled with rage,
I tried to overtake the fugitive,
That by detaining her, I might torment
Her pride again, and load her with reproaches,
Such as I'd only give ingratitude:
But vain was my persuit; I lost her soon;
The labyrinth of the wood secured her from me.

I to