"In prayer she was employ'd; which instant taught me / That piety must be the bait to snare her, / --So won her confidence, and read her heart."
— Cowley [née Parkhouse], Hannah (1743-1809)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by T. Spilsbury, for L. Davis, T. Longman, J. Dodsley, T. Cadell, W. Owen
Date
1780
Metaphor
"In prayer she was employ'd; which instant taught me / That piety must be the bait to snare her, / --So won her confidence, and read her heart."
Metaphor in Context
The Gallic leader of the Moorish band,
(And sure no soil but Gallia's could produce
A Knight thus treach'rous, thus completely form'd
To guide a project hatch'd in nether hell!)
Mark'd with his eye OSMIDA's flying course.
Courage! he cry'd--as the base slaves advanc'd:
All our past trouble, and our long fatigues,
This happy hour repays. OSMIDA's found!
Found at the instant that my famish'd hopes
Scarce lent a ray to guide me in the chace.
When, through the tissu'd thicket, to my eye
The friendly moon reveal'd her, hope prophetic
Call'd her OSMIDA--yet my eager tongue
I dar'd not with that hope intrust, lest Fear
Should draw her veil upon the dangerous truth.
In prayer she was employ'd; which instant taught me
That piety must be the bait to snare her,
--So won her confidence, and read her heart.
(pp. 32-3)
(And sure no soil but Gallia's could produce
A Knight thus treach'rous, thus completely form'd
To guide a project hatch'd in nether hell!)
Mark'd with his eye OSMIDA's flying course.
Courage! he cry'd--as the base slaves advanc'd:
All our past trouble, and our long fatigues,
This happy hour repays. OSMIDA's found!
Found at the instant that my famish'd hopes
Scarce lent a ray to guide me in the chace.
When, through the tissu'd thicket, to my eye
The friendly moon reveal'd her, hope prophetic
Call'd her OSMIDA--yet my eager tongue
I dar'd not with that hope intrust, lest Fear
Should draw her veil upon the dangerous truth.
In prayer she was employ'd; which instant taught me
That piety must be the bait to snare her,
--So won her confidence, and read her heart.
(pp. 32-3)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in ECCO-TCP
Citation
Only 1 entry in ECCO and ESTC (1780).
The Maid of Arragon; a Tale: by Mrs. Cowley. Part I. (London: Printed by T. Spilsbury, for L. Davis, T. Longman, J. Dodsley, T. Cadell, W. Owen, [and 8 others in London], 1780). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
The Maid of Arragon; a Tale: by Mrs. Cowley. Part I. (London: Printed by T. Spilsbury, for L. Davis, T. Longman, J. Dodsley, T. Cadell, W. Owen, [and 8 others in London], 1780). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
04/28/2014
