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But who yon' figure, with obtrusive air
Shot forward?—Hark, how voluble, he vaunts
The sudden splendor beam'd upon his brows
By fraudulence, and rapine and chicane,
An Indian upstart!—Many a vulgar sneer
He points at plain hereditary sense;
Mocks unassuming virtue's honest pride,
And bids it seek a refuge in the cells
Of dark retirement from oppression's fangs—
Closing the moated castle's airy hall,
Whose lofty-window'd pomp shall boast no more
The rich reflection of the storied pane,
But frown its horrors on the spectre-tribe
Of ancestry dishonour'd! Such the force
Of eastern opulence, of eastern state
Too menacing!—And see the dazzled throng
O'er-rul'd by peculation's offspring, hail
His insolent pretensions with applause,
Tho' but a fleeting murmur. For hehold!
With mild address and dignity appears
A long-known patriot, of ingenuous birth,
Ingenuous virtue!—O'er his placid mien
A prepossessing lustre softly spreads;
And each inferior speaker shrinks abash'd:
Whilst with the modesty that e'er adorns
Pure unpretending merit, he unfolds
The topic of discussion in a vein
Of elocution's flowing ease; adverts
To popular opinions, sketching clear
The feature of the times; with keen address
Observes the general temper of the crowd;
Seizes in quick transition (yet with art
Too latent to be visible) the sparks
Of momentary spirit; at a stroke
Lays bare the party-zealot's dark design;
And, lashing the mean agents of intrigue,
On ev'ry point expatiates unrestrain'd—
Till now the oration rises into all
Its energy; and his electric eye
And every animated gesture act
His ardent speech, his vehemence of thought.

He ceases. An extatic pause succeeds,
That bars all utterance—when a mingled shout
Applausive echoes to the concave heaven!