Their Schemes of Spite the Poet's Foes dismiss,
Till that glad Night when all that hate may hifs.
This Day the powder'd Curls and golden Coat,
Says fwelling Crispin, begg'd a Cobler's Vote.
This Night our Wit, the pert Apprentice cries,
Lies at my Feet, I hifs him, and he dies.
The Great, 'tis true, can charm th' electing Tribe;
The Bard may fupplicate, but cannot bribe.
Yet judg'd by those whofe Voices ne'er were fold,
He feels no want of ill-perfuading Gold;
But confident of Praife, if Praise be due,
Trufts without Fear, to Merit, and to you.
Tam patiens urbis, tam ferreus, ut teneat fe? Juv.
HO' Grief and Fondnefs in my Breaft
When injur'd THALES bids the Town farewell,
Yet ftill my calmer Thoughts his Choice commend,
I praise the Hermit, but regret the Friend,
Who now refolves from Vice, and LONDON far,
To breathe in distant Fields a purer Air,
And, fix'd on Cambria's folitary Shore,
Give to St. David one true Briton more.
(a) Quamvis digreffu veteris confufus amici Lauda, tamen, vacuis quod fedem figere Cumis Deftinet, atque unum civem donare Sibyllæ.
(b) For who wou'd leave, unbrib'd, Hibernia's
Or change the Rocks of Scotland for the Strand?
There none are swept by fudden Fate away,
But all whom Hunger fpares, with Age decay:
Here Malice, Rapine, Accident, confpire,
And now a Rabble rages, now a Fire;
Their Ambush, here relentless Ruffians lay,
And here the fell Attorney prowls for Prey;
Here falling Houses thunder on your Head,
And here a female Atheist talks you dead.
(c) While THALES waits the Wherry that con
Of diffipated Wealth the fmall Remains,
On Thames's Banks in filent Thought we stood,
Where Greenwich smiles upon the filver Flood:
Struck with the Seat that gave † Eliza Birth,
We kneel, and kifs the confecrated Earth;
In pleasing Dreams the blissful Age renew,
And call Britannia's Glories back to View ;
Behold her Cross triumphant on the Main,
The Guard of Commerce, and the Dread of Spain,
Ere Masquerades debauch'd, Excise opprefs'd,
Or English Honour grew a ftanding Jeft.
A tranfient Calm the happy Scenes bestow,
And for a Moment lull the Senfe of Woe.
At Length awaking, with contemptuous Frown,
Indignant THALES eyes the neighb'ring Town.
Ego vel Prochytam præpono Suburræ,
Nam quid tam miferum, tam folum vidimus, ut non
Deterius credas horrere incendia, lapfus
Tectorum afiduos, et mille pericula fava
Urbis, & Augufto recitantes, menfe poetas ?
(c) Sed, dum tota domus rhead componitur unâ,
Subftitit ad veteres arcus.
† Queen Elizabeth born at Greenwich.
(d) Since Worth, he cries, in these degenʼrate Days
Wants ev'n the cheap Reward of empty Praise;
In those curs'd Walls, devote to Vice and Gain,
Since unrewarded Science toils in vain
Since Hope but fooths to double my Distress,
And ev'ry Moment leaves my Little less;
While yet my steady Steps no (e) Staff sustains,
And Life ftill vig'rous revels in my Veins;
Grant me, kind Heaven, to find fome happier Place,
Where Honefty and Senfe are no Disgrace ;
Some pleafing Bank where verdant Ofiers play,
Some peaceful Vale with Nature's Painting gay;
Where once the harrafs'd Briton found Repose,
And fafe in Poverty defy'd his Foes;
Some fecret Cell, ye Pow'rs, indulgent give.
(f) Let
live here, for --- has learn'd to
Here let thofe reign, whom Penfions can incite.
To vote a Patriot black, a Courtier white;
Explain their Country's dear-bought Rights away,
And plead for Pirates in the Face of Day;
With flavifh Tenets taint our poifon'd Youth,
And lend a Lye the Confidence of Truth.
(g) Let fuch raife Palaces, and Manors buy, Collect a Tax, or farm a Lottery,
(d) Hic tunc Umbricius : Quando artibus, inquit, honeftis
Nullus in urbe locus, nulla emolumenta laborum,
Res hodie minor eft, beri quam fuit, atque eadem cras
Deteret exiguis aliquid: proponimus illuc
Ire, fatigatas ubi Dadalus exuit alas,
Porto meis, nullo dextram fubeunte bacillo. (f) Cedamus patriâ: vivant Arturius iftic
Et Catulus: maneant qui nigrum in candida vertunt. (g) Queis facile eft adem conducere, flumina, portus, Siccandam eluviem, portandum ad bufta cadaver. -Munera nunc edunt.
With warbling Eunuchs fill a licens'd Stage,
And lull to Servitude a thoughtless Age.
Heroes, proceed, what Bounds your Pride fhall hold?
What Check reftrain your Thirst of Pow'r and Gold?
Behold rebellious Virtue quite o'erthrown,
Behold our Fame, our Wealth, our Lives your own.
To fuch, a groaning Nation's Spoils are giv'n,
When public Crimes inflame the Wrath of Heav'n:-
(b) But what, my Friend, what Hope remains for me,
Who start at Theft, and blush at Perjury?
Who scarce forbear, tho' BRITAIN'S Court he fing,
To pluck a titled Poet's borrow'd Wing;
A Statesman's Logick unconvinc'd can hear,
And dare to flumber o'er the Gazetteer;
Despise a Fool in half his Penfion drefs'd,
And strive in vain to laugh at Hy's Jeft.
(i) Others with fofter Smiles, and fubtler Art,
Can fap the Principles, or taint the Heart;
With more Addrefs a Lover's Note convey,
Or bribe a Virgin's Innocence away.
Well may they rife, while I, whofe ruftick Tongue
Ne'er knew to puzzle Right, or varnish Wrong,
Spurn'd as a Beggar, dreaded as Spy,
Live unregarded, unlamented die.
(k) For what but focial Guilt the Friend endears? Who fhares Orgilio's Crimes, his Fortune fhares.
(b) Quid Roma faciam? mentiri nefcio: librum,
Si malus eft, nequeo laudare & pofcere.
(e) Fere ad nuptas, quæ mittit adulter,
Quæ mandat, norint alii; me nemo miniftro
Fur erit, atque ideo nulli comes exen.
(k) Quis nunc diligitur, nifi confcius ?
Carus erit Verri, qui Verrem tempore, quo vult
Accufare poteft.
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