 | The Letters and Works of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu |  |
ON SEEING A PORTRAIT OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.
Such were the lively eyes and rosy hueOf Robin's face, when Robin first I knew;
The gay companion and the fav'rite guest;
Lov'd without awe, and without views caress'd;
His cheerful smile, and open honest look,
Added new graces to the truth he spoke.
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The pleasant neighbour and the worthy friend;
The gen'rous master of a private house,
The tender father and indulgent spouse.
The hardest censors at the worst believ'd,
His temper was too easily deceiv'd
(A consequential ill good-nature draws,
A bad effect, but from a noble cause).
Whence, then, these clamours of a judging crowd?
Suspicious, griping, insolent, and proud —
Rapacious, cruel, violent, unjust;
False to his friend, and traitor to his trust?
| The Letters and Works of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu | |