| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910. | | | | An Ode: ‘The merchant, to secure his treasure’ | | By Matthew Prior (1664–1721) |
| | | THE MERCHANT, to secure his treasure, | |
| Conveys it in a borrowed name: | |
| Euphelia serves to grace my measure; | |
| But Chloe is my real flame. | |
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| My softest verse, my darling lyre, | 5 |
| Upon Euphelia’s toilet lay; | |
| When Chloe noted her desire, | |
| That I should sing, that I should play. | |
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| My lyre I tune, my voice I raise; | |
| But with my numbers mix my sighs: | 10 |
| And whilst I sing Euphelia’s praise, | |
| I fix my soul on Chloe’s eyes. | |
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| Fair Chloe blushed: Euphelia frown’d: | |
| I sung and gazed: I played and trembled: | |
| And Venus to the Loves around | 15 |
| Remarked, how ill we all dissembled. | | | | |
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