An Epistle in Verse, occasioned by the death of James Boswell, Esquire of Auchinleck -- Addressed to the Rev. Dr. T. D. By the Rev. Samuel Martin |
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 | An Epistle in Verse, occasioned by the death of James Boswell, Esquire |  |
And does not just and sober thinking say,—
Give not to rage of anecdote its sway;
Retail not conversation's free debate,
Thinking aloud, wit's flashes, or its heat;
Let not the moment's sally be engross'd,
Printed, and vended, never to be lost?
Anas, and table-talk, and Johnson's life,
May give delight, have often gender'd strife:
And fame reports our tourist knew full well,
All that one hears, it is not safe to tell:
To publish it abroad is still less safe:
Why should we know who rais'd the sigh or laugh?
What lady, or what sentiment was toasted?
And who the roaster was, and who the roasted?
Whose argument was good, whose voice was strong?
And the comparison of mind and tongue?
How Johnson's temper varied with his meal?
How Wilkes subdu'd him with choice bits of veal?
Why should we hear the ravings of a Tory,
And curs'd, and stigmatis'd, Britannia's glory?
Give not to rage of anecdote its sway;
Retail not conversation's free debate,
Thinking aloud, wit's flashes, or its heat;
Let not the moment's sally be engross'd,
Printed, and vended, never to be lost?
Anas, and table-talk, and Johnson's life,
May give delight, have often gender'd strife:
And fame reports our tourist knew full well,
All that one hears, it is not safe to tell:
To publish it abroad is still less safe:
Why should we know who rais'd the sigh or laugh?
What lady, or what sentiment was toasted?
And who the roaster was, and who the roasted?
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And the comparison of mind and tongue?
How Johnson's temper varied with his meal?
How Wilkes subdu'd him with choice bits of veal?
Why should we hear the ravings of a Tory,
And curs'd, and stigmatis'd, Britannia's glory?
| An Epistle in Verse, occasioned by the death of James Boswell, Esquire | |