The Poetical Works of Henry Brooke ... In Four Volumes Octavo. Revised and corrected by the Original Manuscript With a Portrait of the Author, and His Life By Miss Brooke. The Third Edition |
 | I. |
|
AIR XXIX. |
 |
| II. |
| IV. |
 | The Poetical Works of Henry Brooke |  |
AIR XXIX.
Jack.Since, Sir, you require
Me with freedom to tell you the price I desire;
If duly obey'd,
I must claim all your shifts,
Mean resources, sly drifts,
And whole system of trade.
Each method of weaving
Court nets for enslaving;
54
State quacks, and state nurses;
Your purging of purses;
And skinning of wounds, which you wish not to cure.
II
Each subtle essayOf spreading corruption, in order for sway;
All projects for rule,
By the bait, and the bribe,
And political tribe,
Of trick, traffic, and tool.
Your Court-broom, that gathers
Motes, chaff, straw, and feathers,
And sweeps up all trash from the surface of life.
With your largess of graces,
Posts, pensions, and places,
Where talents and office are ever at strife.
III
With these, I must claimYour entry of red-coated gentry, who dream
That Heroes are made,
And enabl'd to kill,
By the courage and skill
Of a dreadful cockade!
A race, who are prouder
To spend their sweet powder
At balls, than on bullets,—a terrible train
55
Nice seamsters and plaiters,
Beau'd out, for the dance of a dainty campaign!
| The Poetical Works of Henry Brooke | |