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LENOX LIBRART

NEW YORK

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VI.

There was a time, I heard her fay,
Ere females were feduc'd by play,

When Beauty was her throne;
But now, where dwelt the Soft Defires,
The Furies light forbidden fires,
To Love and Her unknown.

VII.

From these th' indignant goddess flies,
And where the fpires of Science rife,
A while fufpends her wing;

But pedant Pride and Rage are there,
And Faction tainting all the air,
And pois'ning every spring.
viii.

Long through the sky's wide pathlefs way
The mufe obferv'd the wand'rer stray,

And mark'd her last retreat ;
O'er Surrey's barren heaths fhe flew,
Defcending like the filent dew
On Efher's peaceful feat.
IX.

There the beholds the gentle Mole
His penfive waters calmly roll,

Amidft Elyfian ground:

There through the windings of the grove She leads her family of Love,

And ftrews her sweets around.

X.

I hear her bid the Daughters fair
Oft to yon gloomy grot repair,

Her fecret fteps to meet;

Nor Thou, the cries, these fhades forfake, But come, lov'd Confort, come and make The husband's blifs complete.

XI.

Yet not too much the foothing eafe
Of rural indolence shall please

My Pelham's ardent breast;
The man whom Virtue calls her own
Muft ftand the pillar of a throne,

And make a nation bleft.

B

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TH

HE court was met; the pris'ner brought;
The counsel with instructions fraught;

And evidence prepar'd at large,

On oath, to vindicate the charge.

But first 'tis meet, where form denies
Poetic helps of fancy'd lies,
Gay metaphors, and figures fine,
And fimilies to deck the line;
'Tis meet (as we before have faid)
To call defcription to our aid.

Begin we then (as firft 'tis fitting)
With the three Chiefs in judgment fitting.
Above the reft, and in the chair,
Sat Faction with diffembled air;
Her tongue was skill'd in fpecious lies,
And murmurs, whence diffentions rife;

*George Lyttelton, Efq. afterwards Lord Lyttelton. The Perfian Letters of this nobleman were written <under the character of Selim, which occafioned Mr. Moore to give him the fame name in this poem.

3

A fmiling mask her features veil'd,
Her form the patriot's robe conceal'd;
With ftudy'd blandishments the bow'd,
And drew the captivated crowd.
The next in place, and on the right,
Sat Envy, hideous to the fight;
Her fnaky locks, her hollow eyes,
And haggard form forbad disguise;
Pale difcontent and fullen hate
Upon her wrinkled forehead fat;

Her left-hand, clench'd, her cheek sustain'd,
Her right (with many a murder stain'd)

A dagger clutch'd, in act to strike,
With starts of rage, and aim oblique.

Laft on the left was Clamour seen,
Of ftature vaft, and horrid mien;
With bloated cheeks, and frantic eyes,
She fent her yellings to the skies;
Prepar'd with trumpet in her hand,
To blow fedition o'er the land.

With thefe, four more of leffer fame,
And humbler rank, attendant came;
Hypocrify with smiling grace,
And Impudence with brazen face,
Contention bold, with iron lungs,
And Slander with her hundred tongues.

The walls in fculptur'd tale were rich,
And statues proud (in many a nich)
Of chiefs, who fought in Faction's caufe,
And perish'd for contempt of laws.
The roof in vary'd light and shade,
The feat of Anarchy difplay'd.
Triumphant o'er a falling throne
(By emblematic figures known)
Confufion rag'd, and Luft obfcene,
And Riot with diftemper'd mien,
And Outrage bold, and Mischief dire,
And Devaftation clad in fire.

Prone on the ground a martial maid
Expiring lay, and groan'd for aid:
Her fhield with many a ftab was pierc'd,
Her laurels torn, her spear revers'd;
And near her, crouch'd amidst the spoils,
A lion panted in the toils.

With look compos'd the pris'ner stood,
And modeft pride. By turns he view'd
The court, the counfel, and the crowd,
And with fubmiffive rev'rence bow'd.

Proceed we now, in humbler strains,
And lighter rhymes, with what remains.
Th' indictment grievously set forth,
That Selim, loft to patriot worth,
(In company with one Will Pitt*,
And many more, not taken yet)
In Forty-five, the royal palace+
Did enter, and to fhame grown callous,
Did then and there his faith forsake,
And did accept, receive, and take,
With mischievous intent and base,
Value unknown, a certain place.

He was a fecond time indicted,
For that, by evil zeal excited,
With learning more than layman's share,
(Which parfons want, and he might spare)

* Afterwards Earl of Chatham.

Mr. Lyttelton was appointed a Lord of the Treasury 25th Dec. 1744.

In Letter to one Gilbert Weft,*

He, the faid Selim, did attest,
Maintain, fupport, and make affertion
Of certain points, from Paul's conversion,
By means whereof the said apostle
Did many an unbeliever jostle,
Starting unfashionable fancies,

And building truths on known romances.
A third charge ran, that knowing well
Wits only eat as pamphlets fell,
He, the faid Selim, notwithstanding,
Did fall to anfw'ring, fhaming, branding
Three curious Letters to the Whigst;
Making no reader care three figs
For any facts contain'd therein;
By which uncharitable fin

An author, modeft and deferving,
Was deftin'd to contempt and starving;
Against the king, his crown and peace,
And all the ftatutes in that cafe.

The pleader rose with brief full charg'd,
And on the pris'ner's crimes enlarg'd-
But not to damp the Mufe's fire
With rhet'ric, fuch as courts require,
We'll try to keep the reader warm,
And fift the matter from the form.
Virtue and focial love, he said,
And honour from the land were fled;
That patriots now, like other folks,"
Were made the but of vulgar jokes ;
While Oppofition dropp'd her crest,
And courted pow'r for wealth and rest.
Why fome folks laugh'd, and some folks rail'd,
Why fome fubmitted, fome affail'd,
Angy or pleas'd-all folv'd the doubt
With who were in, and who were out.
The fons of Clamour grew so fickly,
They look'd for diffolution quickly;
Their Weekly Journals, finely written,
Were funk in privies all besh――――n ;
Old-England, and the London-Evening,
Hardly a foul was found believing in ;
And Caleb, once fo bold and strong,
Was ftupid now, and always wrong.

Afk ye whence rofe this foul difgrace?
Why Selim has receiv'd a place,
And thereby brought the cause to shame;
Proving that People, void of blame,
Might ferve their country and their king,
By making both the felf-fame thing:
By which the credulous believ'd,
And others (by ftrange arts deceiv'd)
That Minifters were sometimes right,
And meant not to destroy us quite.

That bart'ring thus in state affairs,
He next must deal in facred wares,
The clergy's rights divine invade,
And fmuggle in the gospel-trade;

* Entitled, "Obfervations on the Conversion and Apoftleship of St. Paul. In a Letter to Gilbert Weft, Efq." 8vo. 1747.

+Entitled, "Three Letters to the Whigs; occafioned by the Letter to the Tories." 8vo. 1748.

An Oppofition Paper at that time published, in which Mr. Lyttelton was frequently abused.

Caleb D'Anvers, the name affumed by the writers of the Craftsman.

And all this zeal to re-instate
Exploded notions, out of date;
Sending old rakes to church in fhoals,
Like children, fniv'ling for their fouls;
And ladies gay, from fmut and libels,
To learn beliefs, and read their bibles;
Erecting conscience for a tutor,
To damn the present by the future:
As if to evils known and real
'Twas needful to annex ideal;
When all of human life we know
Is care, and bitterness, and woe,
With fhort tranfitions of delight,
To set the shatter'd fpirits right,
Then why fuch mighty pains and care,
To make us hum ler than we are?
Forbidding fhort-liv'd mirth and laughter,
By fears of what may come hereafter?
Better in ignorance to dwell;
None fear, but who believe a hell;
And if there fhould be one, no doubt,
Men of themselves would find it out.

But Selim's crimes, he said, went further,
And barely stopp'd on this fide murther;
One yet remain'd to close the charge,
To which (with leave) he'd speak at large,
And, first, 'twas needful to premise,
That though fo long (for reasons wife)
The prefs inviolate had stood,
Productive of the public good;
Yet ftill, too modeft to abuse,

It rail'd at vice, but told not whose.
That great improvements, of late days,
Were made, to many an author's praife,
Who, not fo fcrupulously nice,
Proclaim'd the person with the vice;
Or gave, where vices might be wanted,
The name, and took the reft for granted.
Upon this plan, a Champion* rofe,
Unrighteous greatness to oppose,
Proving the man "inventus non eft,”
Who trades in pow'r, and still is honeft;.
And (God be prais'd) he did it roundly,
Flogging a certain junto soundly.
But chief his anger was directed,
Where people leaft of all fufpected;
And Selim, not so strong as tall,
Beneath his grafp appear'd to fall.
But Innocence (as people say)
Stood by, and fav'd him in the fray.
By her affifted, and one Truth,
A bufy, prating, forward youth,
He rally'd all his ftrength anew,
And at the foe a Letter threw† :
His weakest part the weapon found,
And brought him fenfelefs to the ground.
Hence Oppofition fled the field,
And Ignorance with her feven-fold fhield;
And well they might, for (things weigh'd fully)
The pris'ner with his Whore and Bully,
Muft prove for every foe too hard,
Who never fought with fuch a guard.

But Truth and Innocence, he said,
Would stand him here in little ftead;

* Author of the Letters to the Whigs. † Probably, "A Congratulatory Letter to Selim on the Letters to the Whigs." Svo. 1748.

For they had evidence on oath,

That would appear too hard for both.
Of witneffes a fearful train
Came next, th' indictments to sustain;
Detraction, Hatred, and Distrust,
And Party, of all foes the worst,
Malice, Revenge, and Unbelief,
And Disappointment worn with grief,
Dishonour foul, unaw'd by fhame,
And every fiend that Vice can name.
All these in ample form depos'd,
Each fact the triple charge difclos'd,
With taunts and gibes of bitter fort,
And asking vengeance from the court.
The pris'ner faid in his defence,
That he indeed had small pretence
To foften facts fo deeply sworn,
But would for his offences mourn;
Yet more he hop'd than bare repentance
Might still be urg'd to ward the sentence.
That he had held a place fome years,
He own'd with penitence and tears,
But took it not from motives base,
Th' indictment there mistook the cafe ;
And though he had betray'd his truft
In being to his country just,
Neglecting Faction and her friends,
He did it not for wicked ends,

But that complaints and feuds might cease,
And jarring parties mix in peace.

That what he wrote to Gilbert Weft, Bore hard against him, he confefs'd; Yet there they wrong'd him; for the fact is, He reafon'd for Belief, not Practice; And People might believe, he thought, Though Practice might be deemed a fault. He either dreamt it, or was told, Religion was rever'd of old, That it gave breeding no offence, And was no foe to wit and sense; But whether this was truth, or whim, He would not fay; the doubt with him (And no great harm he hop'd) was, how Th' enlighten'd world would take it now: If they admitted it, 'twas well; If not, he never talk'd of hell;

Nor even hop'd to change men's measures,
Or frighten ladies from their pleasures.
One accufation, he confefs'd,

Had touch'd him more than all the reft;
Three Patriot-Letters, high in fame,.
By him o'erthrown, and brought to fhame.
And though it was a rule in vogue,
If one man call'd another rogue,
The party injur'd might reply,
And on his foe retort the lie;

Yet what accru'd from all his labour,
But foul difhonour to his neighbour?
And he's a most unchriftian elf,
Who others damns to fave himself.
Befides, as all men knew, he said,
Thofe Letters only rail'd for bread;
And hunger was a known excufe
For prostitution and abuse :

A guinea, properly apply'd,

Had made the Writer change his fide;

He wish'd he had not cut and carv'd him,

The court, he faid, knew all the reft,
And muft proceed as they thought beft;
Only he hop'd fuch refignation
Would plead fome little mitigation;
And if his character was clear

From other faults (and friends were near,
Who would, when call'd upon, attest it)
He did in humblest form request it,
To be from punishment exempt',
And only fuffer their contempt.

The pris'ner's friends their claim preferr'd,
In turn demanding to be heard,
Integrity and Honour swore,
Benevolence, and twenty more,
That he was always of their party,
And that they knew him firm and hearty.
Religion, fober dame, attended,

And, as fhe could, his caufe befriended.
She faid, 'twas fince he came from college,
She knew him introduc'd by Knowledge :
The man was modeft and fincere,
Nor farther could she interfere.
The mufes begg'd to interpofe;
But Envy with loud hiffings rofe,
And call'd them women of ill fame,
Liars, and proftitutes to shame;
And faid, to all the world 'twas known,
Selim had had them every one.

The pris'ner blush'd, the Mufes frown'd,
When filence was proclaim'd around,
And Faction rifing with the reft,
In form the pris'ner thus addrefs'd.

You, Selim, thrice have been indicted;
First, that by wicked pride excited,
And bent your country to difgrace,
You have receiv'd, and held a Place:
Next, Infidelity to wound,

You've dar'd, with arguments profounda
To drive Freethinking to a stand,
And with Religion vex the land:
And lastly in contempt of right,
With horrid and unnat'ral fpite,
You have an Author's fame o'erthrown,
Thereby to build and fence your own.

Thefe crimes fucceffive, on your trial,
Have met with proofs beyond denial;'
To which yourself, with shame, conceded,
And but in mitigation pleaded.
Yet that the juftice of the court
May fuffer not in men's report,
Judgment a moment I fufpend,
To reafon as from friend to friend.

And firft, that You, of all mankind,
With Kings and Courts should stain your mind!
You! who were Oppofition's lord!

Her nerves, her finews, and her fword!
That You at laft, for fervile ends,
Should wound the bowels of her friends!
Is aggravation of offence,

That leaves for mercy no pretence.

Yet more- -For You to urge your hate,
And back the Church, to aid the State!
For You to publish such a Letter!
You who have known Religion better!
For You, I fay, to introduce

The fraud again!-there's no excuse.
And last of all, to crown your fhame,

And own'd, he should have bought, not starv'd him. Was it for You to load with blame

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