T

BY MR. DODDINGTON.

AFTERWARDS LORD MELCOMBE.

Quæ cenfet Amiculus, ut fi

Cæcus iter monftrare velit

HOR.

HOUGH ftrength of genius, by experience taught, Gives thee to found the depths of human thought, To trace the various workings of the mind,

And rule the fecret springs, that rule mankind ;~
(Rare gift!) yet, Walpole, wilt thou condescend
To liften, if thy unexperienc'd friend

Can aught of use impart, though void of skill,
And win attention by fincere good-will;
For friendship, fometimes, want of parts supplies,
The heart may furnish what the head denies,

As when the rapid Rhone, o'er fwelling tides,
To grace old Ocean's court, in triumph rides,
Though rich his fource, he drains a thousand springs,
Nor fcorns the tribute each fmall rivulet brings.
So thou halt, hence, abforb each feeble ray,
Each dawn of meaning, in thy brighter day;
Shalt like, or, where thou canst not like, excufe,
Since no mean intered fall prophane the Muse,
VOL. III.

P

No

No malice, wrapt in truth's disguise, offend,
Nor flattery taint the freedom of the friend.

When first a generous mind furveys the great,
And views the crowds that on their fortune wait.;
Pleas'd with the fhow (though little understood)
He only feeks the power, to do the good;
Thinks, till he tries, 'tis godlike to difpofe,
And gratitude still springs, where bounty fows;
That every grant fincere affection wins,

And where our wants have end, our love begins:
But those who long the paths of state have trod,
Learn from the clamours of the murmuring crowd,
Which cramm'd, yet craving ftill, their gates befiege,
'Tis eafer far to give, than to oblige.

This of thy conduct seems the nicest part,
The chief perfection of the statesman's art,
To give to fair assent a fairer face,
Or foften a refusal into grace:

But few there are that can be truly kind,
Or know to fix their favours on the mind;
Hence, fome, whene'er they would oblige, offend,
And while they make the fortune, lofe the friend;
Still give, unthank'd; still squander, not bestow;
For great men want not, what to give, but how.
The race of men that follow courts, 'tis true,
Think all they get, and more than all, their due;
Still afk, but ne'er confult their own deferts,

And measure by their interest, not their parts:
From this mistake so many men we see,
But ill become the thing they wish'd to be;

Hence

Hence discontent, and fresh demands arife,

More power, more favour in the great man's eyes; All feel a want, though none the cause suspects, But hate their patron, for their own defects;

Such none can please, but who reforms their hearts, And, when he gives them places, gives them parts.

As these o'erprize their worth, fo fure the great May fell their favour at too dear a rate; When merit pines, while clamour is preferr'd, And long attachment waits among the herd; When no diftinction, where diftinction 's due, Marks from the many the fuperior few ; When strong cabal constrains them to be just, And makes them give at last because they must ; What hopes that men of real worth should prize, What neither friendship gives, nor merit buys? The man who justly o'er the whole prefides, His well-weigh'd choice with wife affection guides; Knows when to stop with grace, and when advance, Nor gives through importunity or chance;

But thinks how little gratitude is ow'd,

When favours are extorted, not beftow'd.

When, fafe on shore ourselves, we fee the crowd
Surround the great, importunate, and loud;
Through such a tumult, 'tis no easy task
To drive the man of real worth to ask:
Surrounded thus, and giddy with the show,
'Tis hard for great men, rightly to bestow
From hence fo few are skill'd, in either cafe,
To ask with dignity, or give with grace.

P 2

Sometimes

Sometimes the great, feduc'd by love of parts,
Confult our genius, and neglect our hearts ;

Pleas'd with the glittering sparks that genius flings,
They lift us, towering on their eagle's wings,
Mark out the flights by which themselves begun,
And teach our dazzled eyes to bear the fun;
Till we forget the hand that made us great,
And
grow to envy, not to emulate :-

To emulate, a generous warmth implies,
To reach the virtues, that make great men rise;
But envy wears a mean malignant face,

And aims not at their virtues-but their place.
Such to oblige, how vain is the pretence !
When every favour is a fresh offence,

By which fuperior power is ftill imply'd,

And, while it helps their fortune, hurts their pride.
Slight is the hate, neglect or hardships breed;
But those who hate from envy, hate indeed.

"Since fo perplex'd the choice, whom shall we truft?”
Methinks I hear thee cry-The brave and just;
The man by no mean fears or hopes control'd,
Who ferves thee from affection, not for gold.

We love the honeft, and esteem the brave,
Defpife the coxcomb, but deteft the knave;
No fhew of parts the truly wife feduce,
To think that knaves can be of real ufe.
The man, who contradicts the public voice,
And strives to dignify a worthless choice,
Attempts a task that on that choice reflects,
And lends us light to point out new defects.

One

One worthless man, that gains what he pretends,
Disgusts a thousand unpretending friends :
And fince no art can make a counterpass,
Or add the weight of gold to mimic brass,
When princes to bad ore their image join,
They more debafe the ftamp, than raise the coin.
Be thine the care, true merit to reward,
And gain the good-nor will that task be hard;
Souls form'd alike fo quick by nature blend,
An honeft man is more than half thy friend.
Him, no mean views, or hafte to rife, shall sway,
Thy choice to fully, or thy trust betray :
Ambition, here, fhall at due distance stand;
Nor is wit dangerous in an honest hand :
Befides, if failings at the bottom lie,
We view those failings with a lover's eye;
Though fmall his genius, let him do his best,
Our wishes and belief fupply the reft.

Let others barter fervile faith for gold,.
His friendship is not to be bought or fold:
Fierce oppofition he, unmov'd, shall face,
Modeft in favour, daring in difgrace,
To share thy adverfe fate alone, pretend;
In power, a fervant; out of power, a friend.
Here pour thy favours in an ample flood,
Indulge thy boundless thirst of doing good :
Nor think that good to him alone confin'd;
Such to oblige, is to oblige mankind.

If thus thy mighty mafter's fteps thou trace,
The brave to cherish, and the good to grace;
P 3

Long