Who to know this abandon all beside;

Bold though polite, and ever sure to please;

Correct with grace, and elegant with ease;

Soft from the lips its easy accents roll,

Form'd to delight and captivate the soul;

In this Eugenia tells her easy lay

The brilliant work of courtly Beaumarchais;

In this Racine, Voltaire, and Boileau sung,

The noblest parts in the noblest tongue.

If the soft story in our play expressed