The Works of John Hall-Stevenson ... Corrected and Enlarged. With Several Original Poems, Now First Printed, and Explanatory Notes. In Three Volumes |
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BOOK XXIV. ODE VIII. |
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 | The Works of John Hall-Stevenson |  |
26
BOOK XXIV. ODE VIII.
TO DANIEL WEBB, ESQ.
I would, with all my heart and soul,
Send every friend a golden bowl,
And with each bowl a purse of gold,
To fill the bowl and make it smile,
And to secure the bowl awhile,
From being either pawn'd or sold.
Send every friend a golden bowl,
And with each bowl a purse of gold,
To fill the bowl and make it smile,
And to secure the bowl awhile,
From being either pawn'd or sold.
To every military friend,
Heroick tripods I would send,
Tripods fit only for brave fellows
That is to say, crutches a pair,
And one stout leg of the same ware,
Made like the nossel of a bellows.
Heroick tripods I would send,
Tripods fit only for brave fellows
That is to say, crutches a pair,
And one stout leg of the same ware,
Made like the nossel of a bellows.
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Pictures I'd send of every school,
I am so generous a fool,
With statues too and busts for niches,
These I would send to none but you,
The prince and mirror of virtù,
If I was master of such riches.
I am so generous a fool,
With statues too and busts for niches,
These I would send to none but you,
The prince and mirror of virtù,
If I was master of such riches.
As to virtù, that point's decided,
You are sufficiently provided;
All that you want of me is metre,
You may have plenty at my forge,
I need not steal, like thrifty George ,
From Paul, in order to pay Peter.
You are sufficiently provided;
All that you want of me is metre,
You may have plenty at my forge,
I need not steal, like thrifty George ,
From Paul, in order to pay Peter.
I know the price of lyrick song
Easy, yet elegantly strong,
And know that Beckford's head of marble,
I mean that head the sculptor made,
That marble head will sooner fade,
Than any songs the Muses warble.
Easy, yet elegantly strong,
And know that Beckford's head of marble,
I mean that head the sculptor made,
That marble head will sooner fade,
Than any songs the Muses warble.
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Your fame must fly with wings of paper,
Be you a Wolfe, a Howe, a Draper,
Victor at Minden or at Canna,
Or legislator great as he,
That led the Jews through the Red Sea,
And pamper'd them with quails and manna.
Be you a Wolfe, a Howe, a Draper,
Victor at Minden or at Canna,
Or legislator great as he,
That led the Jews through the Red Sea,
And pamper'd them with quails and manna.
Great bards great favours can bestow,
In heaven above or hell below,
They can convey you with a nod,
From Styx, whenever they think fit,
And call you up to heaven by writ,
And make you an immortal god.
In heaven above or hell below,
They can convey you with a nod,
From Styx, whenever they think fit,
And call you up to heaven by writ,
And make you an immortal god.
Lollius
with Æacus may dwell;
Minos and he may judge in hell,
When future poets sing his worth,
Bute may, like Enoch, be translated,
Then made a star, and made related
To slow Bootes of the North .
Minos and he may judge in hell,
When future poets sing his worth,
Bute may, like Enoch, be translated,
Then made a star, and made related
To slow Bootes of the North .
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And Sandwich, if the Muses please,
Shall outwit Mercury with ease,
And my lord duke outshine Apollo,
And each Olympick peer outvie
Castor the jockey of the sky,
And Rigby bold beat Bacchus hollow.
Shall outwit Mercury with ease,
And my lord duke outshine Apollo,
And each Olympick peer outvie
Castor the jockey of the sky,
And Rigby bold beat Bacchus hollow.
I know there is classical authority for this epithet,
Sive est arctophylax sive est piger ille Bootes.Yet I cannot help fancying the author wrote Sly, instead of Slow Bootes; he is represented in his northern situation watching his charge with unremitting vigilance; and I am apt to believe that our Sly Boots is a contraction of Bootes. I have seen the same thought in a manuscript collection of verses composed by the professors of a famous university upon the Revolution in 1760. It was beautifully pursued in the verses of the astronomy professor, which struck me so that I still retain them,
Attendant upon Charles's wane,Bootes, commonly called Bute,
The brightest star in all his train,
Without all manner of dispute:
May thou forever fixt remain,
Cunning and watchful as the dragon:
Let Ursa Minor break his chain,
And overturn the northern waggon.
Ov. Fast. iii. 405.
| The Works of John Hall-Stevenson | |