And balm, that yields a finer juice
Than all that China can produce;
With carrots red, and turnips white,
And leeks, Cadwallader's delight;
And all the savoury crop that vie
To please the palate and the eye.
Thus as, intent, he did survey
His plot, a herald came that way,
A man of great escutcheon'd knowledge,
And member of the motley college.
Heedless the peasant pass'd he by,
Indulging this soliloquy:
"Ye gods! what an enormous space
"Twixt man and man does nature place;
While some by deeds of honour rise,
To such a height, as far outvies
The visible diurnal sphere;
While others, like this rustic here,
Grope in the grovelling ground content,
Without or lineage or descent.
Hail, heraldry! mysterious art,
Bright patroness of all desert,
Mankind would on a level lie,
And undistinguish'd live and die;
Depriv'd of thy illustrious aid,
Such so momentous is our trade."
"Sir, (says the clown) why sure you joke,
(And kept on digging as he spoke)
And prate not to extort conviction,
But merrily by way of fiction.
Say, do your manuscripts attest
What was old father Adam's crest?
Did he a nobler coat receive
In right of marrying Mrs. Eve?
Or had supporters, when he kiss'd her,
On dexter side, and side sinister?
Or was his motto, prithee speak,
English, French, Latin, Welch, or Greek?
Or was he not, without a lie,
Just such a nobleman as I?
Virtue, which great defects can stifle,
May beam distinction on a trifle;
And honour, with her native charms,
May beautify a coat of arms;
Realities sometimes will thrive,
E'en by appearance kept alive!
But by themselves, Gules, Or, and Fez,
Are ciphers, neither more nor less:
Keep both thy head and hands from crimes,
Be honest in the worst of times:
Health's on my countenance imprest,
And sweet content's my daily guest;
My fame alone I build on this,
And Garter King at Arms may kiss-"
THE SNAKE, THE GOOSE, AND NIGHTINGALE.
Humbly addressed to the Hissers and Catcallers attending both
Houses.
WHEN rul'd by truth and nature's ways,
When just to blame, yet fix'd to praise,
As votary of the Delphic god,
I reverence the critic's rod;
But when inflam'd with spite alone,
I hold all critics but as one;
For though they class themselves with art,
And each man takes a different part;
Yet whatsoe'er they praise and blame;
They in their motives are the same.
Forth as she waddled in the brake,
A grey goose stumbled on a snake,
And took the' occasion to abuse her,
And of rank plagiarism accuse her.
""Twas I, (quoth she) in every vale,
First hiss'd the noisy nightingale;
And boldly cavill'd at each note
That twitter'd in the woodfark's throat:
I, who, sublime and more than mortal,
Must stop to enter at the portal,
Have ever been the first to show
My hate to every thing that's low,
While thou, mean mimic of my manner,
(Without enlisting to my banner)
Durst, in thy grovelling situation,
To counterfeit my sibilation.”
The snake enrag'd replied, "Know, madam,
I date my charter down from Adam ;
Nor can I, since I bear the bell,
E'er imitate where I excel.
Had any other creature dar'd
Once to aver what you've aver'd,
I might have been more fierce and fervent,
But you're a goose-and so your servant."
"Truce with your folly and your pride,
(The warbling Philomela cried)
Since no more animals we find,
In nature, of the hissing kind,
You should be friends with one another,
Nay, kind as brother is to brother.
For know, thou pattern of abuse,
Thou snake art but a crawling goose;
And thou, dull-dabbler in each lake,
Art nothing but a feather'd snake."
VOL. XXX.
CARE AND GENEROSITY.
OLD Care with Industry and Art
At length so well had play'd his part,
He heap'd up such an ample store,
That Avarice could not sigh for more:
Ten thousand flocks his shepherd told,
His coffers overflow'd with gold;
The land all round him was his own,
With corn his crowded granaries groan.
In short, so vast his charge and gain,
That to possess them was a pain :
With happiness oppress'd he lies,
And much too prudent to be wise.
Near him there liv'd a beauteous maid,
With all the charms of youth array'd;
Good, amiable, sincere, and free;
Her name was Generosity.
"Twas her's the largess to bestow
On rich and poor, on friend and foe.
Her doors to all were open'd wide,
The pilgrim there might safe abide :
For the hungry and the thirsty crew,
The bread she broke, the drink she drew;
There Sickness laid her aching head,
And there Distress could find a bed.
Each hour, with an all-bounteous hand,
Diffus'd the blessings round the land:
Her gifts and glory lasted long,
And numerous was the' accepting throng.
At length pale Penury seiz'd the dame,
And Fortune fled, and Ruin came;
She found her riches at an end,
And that she had not made one friend.
All curs'd her for not giving more,
Nor thought on what she'd done before:
She wept, she rav'd, she tore her hair,
When, lo to comfort her came Care,
And cried, "My dear, if you will join
Your hand in nuptial bonds with mine,
All will be well-you shall have store,
And I be plagu'd with wealth no more:
Though I restrain your bounteous heart,
You still shall act the generous part.
The bridal came-great was the feast,
And good the pudding and the priest.
The bride in nine moons brought him forth
A little maid of matchless worth
Her face was mix'd of care and glee;
They christen'd her Economy;
And styl'd her fair discretion's queen,
The mistress of the golden mean.
Now Generosity confin'd,
Perfectly easy in her mind,
Still loves to give, yet knows to spare,
Nor wishes to be free from Care.
In every age, and each profession,
Men err the most by prepossession;
But when the thing is clearly shown,
And fairly stated, fully known,
We soon applaud what we deride,
And penitence succeeds to pride.-
A certain baron on a day,
Having a mind to show away,
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