III

Thus long we liv'd from Youth together bred,
And at one Table constantly were fed:
'Till on a fatal inauspicious Day,
As in the Sun's bright Beams she basking lay,
Her beauteous Eyes she rowl'd about in vain,
And scarcely could endure the Light for Pain:
An Atrophy her lov'ly Form invades,
Her Bones start thro' the Skin! her Skin's bright Lustre fades!
The vital Flood ebb'd slowly from her Heart,
And deadly Pangs tormented ev'ry Part:
This for the Space of five long Days she bore,
Without a Sigh, or one repining Groan;
While I the greater Brute her Fate deplore,
And teach her how to moan.
At last as I sat grieving by her Side,
She fix'd her fainting Eyes on mine, then fetch'd a Sigh and died.