Ball room votaries or, Canterbury and its vicinity. Second Edition, with considerable alterations and additions [by Edward Quillinan] |
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 | Ball room votaries |  |
See Proteus J*rv*s hastily advance,
An actor, captain, master of the dance;
Exact in circumstances, nice in dates,
Yet apt to prose in all that he relates.
But let me not the foibles bring in view
Of one whose virtues bear such noble hue;
Whose candid mind would never stoop to please,
By cringing, creeping flatt'ry, Margate's curst disease;
Whose tongue, untrained to adulation's guile,
Breathes for his friends no ready incense vile;
And whose combined humanity and skill
Claim the warm tribute of encomium still.
An actor, captain, master of the dance;
Exact in circumstances, nice in dates,
Yet apt to prose in all that he relates.
But let me not the foibles bring in view
Of one whose virtues bear such noble hue;
Whose candid mind would never stoop to please,
By cringing, creeping flatt'ry, Margate's curst disease;
Whose tongue, untrained to adulation's guile,
Breathes for his friends no ready incense vile;
And whose combined humanity and skill
Claim the warm tribute of encomium still.
That prompt humanity superior shone,
That gen'rous skill a Coote's applauses won,
When Britain's martial host to Ostend sail'd,
And medical assistance so much fail'd;
'Twas then (the impulse of his heart obey'd)
J*rv*s stepp'd forth and volunteer'd his aid,
Forsook the comforts all of social joy,
And left a sure and lucrative employ,
To share the perils and relieve the pain
Of wounded warriors on a foreign plain—
There would his constant, anxious efforts save
Full many a hero sinking to the grave:
There, watchful at the fainting soldier's side,
Renew the springs of life's retreating tide,
Assist pale nature's struggle against death;
With nicest art retain the fleeting breath,
And send the warrior, from disease restor'd,
Once more to bathe in hostile blood his sword.
That gen'rous skill a Coote's applauses won,
When Britain's martial host to Ostend sail'd,
And medical assistance so much fail'd;
'Twas then (the impulse of his heart obey'd)
J*rv*s stepp'd forth and volunteer'd his aid,
54
And left a sure and lucrative employ,
To share the perils and relieve the pain
Of wounded warriors on a foreign plain—
There would his constant, anxious efforts save
Full many a hero sinking to the grave:
There, watchful at the fainting soldier's side,
Renew the springs of life's retreating tide,
Assist pale nature's struggle against death;
With nicest art retain the fleeting breath,
And send the warrior, from disease restor'd,
Once more to bathe in hostile blood his sword.
| Ball room votaries | |