The Age Reviewed A Satire: In two parts: Second edition, revised and corrected [by Robert Montgomery] |
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| I. |
| II. |
 | The Age Reviewed |  |
Judge by the tongue, and all mankind are true,
Sincere, untainted, and religious too;
Judge by appearance, and the poorest shine
In grandeur, happier far, than Beckford, thine!
But, Pride's the monster passion of the times,
The spring of folly, and the nurse of crimes;
Pride makes the black-leg swindle for his ore,
Pride makes the honest to be so no more;
Pride tempts the guilty to become more vile,
At once the curse and ruin of our Isle!
Superbly, see the trader's costly bale
Rolled on the counter for patrician sale;
The ribbon garland, and the plated glass,
To catch the beauty of each country ass;
The brass-lined window, and Peruvian show
Of silks for belles, and kerchiefs for the beaux—
All prove the spirit of commercial pride,
And shed a glory on the counter's side!
And then the master of this mighty place—
Oh! what a model of slim form and grace!
So prim and spruce—so civet-like and sweet,
Such taper fingers and such dainty feet!
He keeps a groom and “blood,” and Sabbath chaise,
Olivia waltzes, and Amelia plays;
While the fat wife, sweating to her oily poll,
Twiddles her thumbs, and sighs,—“the flow of soul!”
And then, he gives his ball, and guzzles wine,
And deems it courtly not till eve to dine:
In short, no Nabob more sublimely swells,
Than this same connoiseur of yards and ells,
Till debt and ruin rouse the rascal's fears,
And George's White-wash blots his long arrears!
Sincere, untainted, and religious too;
Judge by appearance, and the poorest shine
In grandeur, happier far, than Beckford, thine!
But, Pride's the monster passion of the times,
The spring of folly, and the nurse of crimes;
Pride makes the black-leg swindle for his ore,
Pride makes the honest to be so no more;
Pride tempts the guilty to become more vile,
At once the curse and ruin of our Isle!
69
Rolled on the counter for patrician sale;
The ribbon garland, and the plated glass,
To catch the beauty of each country ass;
The brass-lined window, and Peruvian show
Of silks for belles, and kerchiefs for the beaux—
All prove the spirit of commercial pride,
And shed a glory on the counter's side!
And then the master of this mighty place—
Oh! what a model of slim form and grace!
So prim and spruce—so civet-like and sweet,
Such taper fingers and such dainty feet!
He keeps a groom and “blood,” and Sabbath chaise,
Olivia waltzes, and Amelia plays;
While the fat wife, sweating to her oily poll,
Twiddles her thumbs, and sighs,—“the flow of soul!”
And then, he gives his ball, and guzzles wine,
And deems it courtly not till eve to dine:
In short, no Nabob more sublimely swells,
Than this same connoiseur of yards and ells,
70
And George's White-wash blots his long arrears!
| The Age Reviewed | |