University of Virginia Library


306

SONNET XXVI. On the Edition of Mr. Pope 's Works with a Commentary and Notes.

In evil hour did Pope's declining age,
Deceiv'd and dazzled by the tinsel shew
Of wordy science and the nauseous flow
Of mean officious flatteries, engage
Thy venal quill to deck his labor'd page
With ribbald nonsense, and permit to strew,
Amidst his flowers, the baleful weeds, that grow
In th' unbless'd soil of rude and rancorous rage.
Yet this the avenging Muse ordained so,
When, by his counsil or weak sufferance,
To thee were trusted Shakespear's Fame and Fate:
She doom'd him down the stream of time to tow
Thy soul, dirt-loaded hulk, or sink perchance,
Dragg'd to oblivion by the foundering weight.