" Then why should I one moment lose,
On such poor hirelings abuse;
How hard's their fate compar'd with mine,
On others' offal doom'd to dine.

"Enough, enough, invective cease,
Hold forth the olive branch of peace;
And let your muse now chaunt in lays,
Such themes as well deserves the bays.

"Agreed, and Laura, lovely fair,
Henceforth shall be my chiefest care:
For her I'll touch the trembling lyre,
To praise those beauties I admire."

)

After saying some handsome things in praise of Laura, whom I endea. vour to gain by presents of gew-gaws, &c. I draw this conclusion, that if

"They'll not get her in my power,

To drop at once a golden shower;
And all which makes the matter nice,
Is only how to hit her price."

You may imagine some of the Lines addressed to Laura, are written with a degree of levity, which I trust the following ones will amply atone for

"We've liv'd to see, O glorious times!
When such like bargains are not crimes.
Then, dare we blame the female tribe,
Who sell their virtue for a bribe?
Have we not liv'd to see the day,
That men are prostitutes for pay?

"The time hath been, this Isle could boast,
The virtues that adorn'd her coast;
When all her sons were valiant, just,
And worthy of the public trust.

"But whither is that virtue fled?
Are all the nicer feelings dead ?
Shall all alike that trust betray,
And on their Country's vitals prey?

"Accurst that State we justly call,
Whose sons from public virtue fall;
For once remove that sacred prop,
Lo! private virtue's sure to drop.
Thus, honour fled, what blacken'd page
Shall stigmatize this venal age?
Forbid that I this path pursue,
To stake my faith, my honour too--
Ensnare the woman I esteem ?

The very thought with curses teem.

1

di

Nature

Nature revolts and stands aloof,
Whilst Conscience ushers in reproof."

The Second Canto begins thus:

"Now, puny Critics, try your wits,

Now lash and spur your jaded tits;
Now flounder on through filth and mire,
My Pegasus shall mount the higher;
Shall soar in strains of true knight's-errant,
As this shall prove sufficient warrant.

"Hath not your fav'rite Cervantes,
Whom all allow the true gallant is;
Hath he not caus'd his quondam knight,
With windmills, nay, with sheep to fight?
And all, forsooth, for Del Toboso,
Whom Sancho proves to be but so so.

"Not like my Laura, lovely maid,
Whose heavenly charms shall yield me aid;
Inspir'd by her I'll join the fray,
To scourge the monsters of the day.

"Not all those doughty knights of old,
Of whom such val'rous feats are told;
With such a monster e'er did fight,
As modern times have brought to light,
We sure may challenge all tradition,
To match the Hydra Coalition;
Whose damn'd unnatural alliance,
Dar'd bid the King and Lords defiance.

"But, when the people back'd the cause,
To shield prerogative and laws,
No Coalition could withstand
The efforts of the patriot band :
They taught Lord North and Charley Fox,
Their liberties were orthodox;
And wou'd not brook of innovation,
By any junto in the nation.

"Tho' bully Lee may roundly boast,
Our charter'd rights to be at most
Mere parchment scrolls with dangling seal,
And that whene'er the Commons feel
An inclination to destroy 'em,
The subject can no more enjoy 'em;
To such vile doctrine who'd submit,
Or give up charters, King, or Pitt?

" And sure, my friends, the cause is plain,
That love of power, and love of gain,
First brought Lord North and Fox to join,
Fair freedom's cause to undermine,

"But how this league was brought about,
No human being can make out,
We therefore must resort to fiction,
Which semblance bears to strong conviction..

"Writers must be allow'd for ease
To use what metaphors they please;
And thereby shew their ingenuity;
Though sometimes fraught with incongruity.

"Imagination thus let loose,
Can make Lord North at once a Goose.
Yet how unlike that breed of old,
As by tradition we are told,

Did keep the capital from falling;
By timely cackling and squalling!
What hath this modern Goose been doing,

But cackling its country's ruin?

"Now here the metaphor must end,
Unless we on the Commons tend;
To see and hear the gross abuse
Which passes 'twixt the Fox and Goose;
Where Reynard strives with sable speech,
To get the Goose within his reach,
But finds his striving all in vain,
Should he his native shape retain.

"As fallen spirits can with ease
Assume whatever form they please;
So have our hero chang'd his make,
And did at once the gander's take.

"Thus Jupiter, tho' more than man,
Transform'd himself into a Swan,
For Leda's sake, as we are told,
But not for power or filthy gold.
'Twas mighty love that fir'd his breast,
And wou'd not let his godship rest,
'Till he and Leda got together,
And in her pool had wet his feather.

"Lo! here our pair begin to gloat,
And on each other fondly doat;
Next shake the tail and dodge the head,
Then flutter, coalesce, or tread.

"This goose, like other geese, 'tis fit
Should talents have to lay and sit;
And when she'd hatch'd with wondrous skill,
It prov'd forsooth an India bill.

"The gander's pride no tongue can tell,

When seven large goslings burst the shell;

1

3

Not

:

Not like to common squabs, 'tis true,
Not cover'd o'er with downy flue;
But all were hatch'd and fledg'd together,
And all at once in proper feather.

"Here Pitt, who with Ithuriel spear,
Now touch'd at once the apostate pair,
And shew'd them in their proper features,
Which damn'd them both as human creatures,

"But Charley, like the devil of old,
Tho' oft detected, grew more bold,
Nor check nor disappointment fears,
But thus harangues his fell compeers :

" Shall we thus Pandemonium quit,
Nor try what rhetoric or wit
Will do, to gain our ends,
On which our hope, our all depends?
I'll instant to the Commons hie,
My powers of eloquence to try;
I'll so infuse and gloze my speech,
Their understanding shall not reach
The depth of our concerted scheme;
Nor shall they e'en so much as dream
Of what's in embryo conceal'd,
Which in due time may stand reveal'd,
When we from India's shore by stealth
Have gain'd all patronage and wealth;
And so provide for those about us,
That King and Lords shall never rout us.
Shou'd any Member take alarm,
And say our bill is fraught with harm,
With smooth address I'll win him over,
And so much of our plan discover;
And teach him how to see his way,
To enter into present pay.

"If such like arguments we try,
A large majority 'twill buy
Of Members in the Lower House *,
Who surely will our plan espouse.

"My dearest friend, Lord North replies,

Your observation's truly wise,
'Tis money that's the master key

To turn men's minds 'twixt you and me ;

1

* The reader will have the goodness not to forget, that these loose observations apply to some caput mortuum that existed years ago, and not to any living being or existing House, Editor.

APPENDIX, VOL, XXIV.

Mm

Have

3

r

Have I not, by experience, found,
That Ministers, to stand their ground
Against the national opinion,
Must truck with every slave or minion:
And therefore taught them long ago,
The different price 'twixt aye and no.

" I think to you I need not mention
'Twas contracts, bribery, place, and pension,
By which I power and influence kept,
And in the House securely slept ;
Nor ever dreamt of a retreat,
Whilst I by fraud cou'd keep my seat.

"Thus in debate the monsters sate;
Not knowing that the will of fate
Had baffl'd their infernal schemes,
And ruin'd all their golden dreams.

"Blest be the man whose honest zeal
Dares to his Sovereign's ear reveal
The voice of truth, when faction's brewing,
And threat'ning his country's ruin!
Thus TEMPLE dar'd his voice to raise,
And well deserves a nation's praise.

* Our gracious Monarch heard with horror,
What soon wou'd prove his people's sorrow;
That e'en himself must be in chains,
Should such vile wretches hold the reins;
That all his nobles they'd environ,
And bind them fast in links of iron-
Wisely determin'd from that hour
To hurl them headlong out of power.

"Hail, happy Britain, native Isle,
Again shall peace and plenty smile;
Your free-born sons may now rejoice,
• With voice on high, a mighty voice;
In praises of so great, so good a King,
Shall George still reign, and shall not Britons sing * ?**

* Churchill.