University of Virginia Library

This seems an odd association of ideas.—Was a piper, or a piper's son, ever made a bishop.

Exegi Monumentum Ære-perennius.

Meaning only of the contending parties, mentioned in the former Cantos; not insinuating that the legislative Uxien between England and Ireland is likely to end in discord.

A multitude of Union pamphiets by Judges and Barristers.

To members whose Terms were—Cash!

The effects of certain colours on the organs of certain animals is truly surprising. We know what paroxysms scarlet excites in the turkey-cock; certain brutes are equally annoyed by the colour—Green.

εκατης Δειπνον This was a very public kind of entertainment, being usually laid out at a placè where three roads met.

Alluding to the foolish old proverb, “He who eats with the Devil must have a long spoon.”

Beware, reader, not to read this word amiss—Traitor. It is a French word, and means a furnisher of entertainments. By a false pronunciation you might make me say that traitors were employed at the secretary's breakfast.

Wigs.—The near connexion between wigs and the principles which fill the head of the wearer, has been already noticed by Pope in these lines:

The classical name for the city of Dablin.

Made Paddy D. vicegerent of the one—made the other a Dominican friar. They are short and zealous, though unlovely in their lives; in their deaths they should not be divided.

This may surprize the reader, at first glance; but flesh to flesh is a natural principle of production and encrease. All systems of organized matter naturally coalesce with their like; it is therefore reasonable to presume that human flesh should be nutritious food to human creatures: and that a lady who has her belly full of it will be apt to encrease in size.

This gentleman was a conspicuous figure at the last birth day levee. The old Castle stagers were astonished at the apparition.

Quere. What Doctor?—I presume some physician. The author seems partial to the profession. It cannot be Doctor Plunket. He is rather sly and sardonic than noisy.

See Ovid. Metamorph. book 12th, at the nuptials of Piritbous and Hippodamia.

Saltees are islands near the coast in the county of Wexford, from whence great store of Lobsters is sent to Dublin.

Observe here some fine touches of nature, and beautiful delineations of character. The manly --- listens, with much patience, to the law arguments of his noble friend, but when he comes to asperse the character of Irish cyder, the patriotic feelings of the houest gentleman flame out, and he bellows with a becoming indignation.

I know no such place in Dublin. Edit.

The impatient character of the redoubtable doctor alluded to, is well preserved hers. It is a pity he interrupted the prosing discourse of the sober orator.

This line is a beautiful example of alliteration.

This is just specimen of D*******'s manner.

This meeting and familiar conference in the midst of a battle is perfectly Homeric. The reader, who is generally fond of indulging his ingenuity, at the expence of an author's reputation will perhaps endeavour to apply what is mere fiction, and the creation of the poet's brain, to some living characters, with whom the anthor is in habits of great intimacy, and for whom he feels the utmost reverence. But if he should, the fault is in the reader, not the writer, and my highly exalted, and much respected friends will know how to put the saddle on the right horse.

Interdum bonus domitat Homerus.---The author's memory seems here to have been somewhat treacherous; a few lines before he calls one of his interlocutors W---, and now, behold he terms him M---: verily, master poet here is a slip of the pen. But liars, they say, have need of good memories. Aristarchus.

“Cui male si palpere recalcitrat undique tutus.” Horacd.

This passage gives an admirable picture of human life and contains an excellent moral lesson. The friendships of courtiers are fleeting and transitory indeed.

Sans Culottes.—This comparison not only illustrates the appearance of the combatants, divested of a certain superfluity of dress, but also the rage, with which they were inspired, resembling that which possest the Parisian mob, or Sans-Culottes, as they affected to call themselves. The author might also wish to intimate, that his reverend champions had attained to eminence on the principles of Sans-Culotterie, the rule and principle of which has ever been to abase the Castle and the Palace, and exalt the pig-sty and the dung-hill. I yow to Jnpiter I mean no personal allusion.

Ovid. Metam. lib. 8. li. 8.

Let it not be supposed that the poet here means to allude to Miss F. although that very facetious and satyrical young lady assumed the appropriate dress and character, at a late fancy ball, which (proh pudor) was very thinly attended. The bard has too much reverence even for a broomstick from the Castle stables.

Hogress.—A ferocious being described in the Arabian tales, who fed upon young men; and what added to her cruelty, gobbled up their members a live.

This passage is supposed to allude to an incident which took place in a certain great house, not a mile from the course of the Poddle, where the rape of the lock was travestied.

The officers of the Green Horse would not go to the Fancy Ball.

The author does not mean to insinuate, by the term of Picture, that the ingenious Gentleman who has deservedly obtained the appellation of the Belvedere Apollo, is a mere picture—a thing only to be looked at. He may resemble his namesake at all points—and Apollo was not only a male beauty, but a csnjurer.

Some superficial critics will be apt to exclaim “here is a Hysteron proteron—can these ladies be damned before they are dead?” Yes, my good sir, that is the very thing, They are to be tantalized, and suffer the torments of the damned, and at last to pine away, and die of hopeless love.

Nigrœ succus loliliginis!

See the inimitable philosophic poem, the Temple of Nature, by Doctor Darwin.

Bully Bottom. Nay, reader, I mean not any Judge or Cbairman—Bully Bottom was manager or deputy manager of a company of Atbenian clowns, and, as you may read in Sbakespeare, ambitiously aimed at shining in every character, and would, if he could, have engrossed them all to himself. He would have played Pyramus and Tbisbe both, and even Lion, Wall, and Moonsbine. I saw our Bully Bottom, play part of one character naturally. It was in the part of Moneses, where the poor Christian is to be strangled. The part of the mutes was assigned to two soldiers, and it being their first appearance, they fell to work with the bowstring in good carnest.

Sings or says. It is hard to determine which, for Tbalaba the Destroyer is written in a new manner, in a sort of periods or stanzas of measured prose, or irregular blank verse.

Such a partie quarree! The lady—the sage of the law —the dramatic hero—the caro sposo—all loved and loving. Amandas he—Amanda she! O rare instance of the liberal philosophy, and enlarged notions of our modern times! but there is something odd here. I cannot, for my life, guess why this philosophical party should visit the neighbourhood of the Dargle.

Mr. Hardy had adhered to the present ministry, while it was an opposition, and devoted his time, and his respectable talents, to their service, in the most honourable manner; and they were bound by positive promises to provide for him when they should come into power; but what then? There were fifty good reasons against his promotion. First, his friends—I will not call them, but his college of professions. were bound in honour to promcte him, so the doing it, they thought, would excite no surprise, nor extort no gratitude. Again—He was a gentleman.—Moreover, he was a man incapable of meanness.—Add to this, he was a man of pure morals and unblemished reputation. Lastly, the appointment of Mr. Hardy to some distinguished office would not have excited any outcry, any indignation, or disgraceful eclat.

The reader must understand, that in a certain collegiate church, not far from Winetavern-street, care was taken by our sapient antestors, to maintain the aforesaid aristocracy of prayer; for there is there a seat called the peeresses' seat, appropriated for the wives and daughters of our truly devout and virtuous nobility. The lady, so deservedly commemorated by the poet, who is now herself of the privileged cast, and was the daughter of an eminent wine-merchant, takes her station on a throne, assigned exclusively to herself, and keeps her eyes, like as Grimalkin does on the mouse's hole, on this sanctum sanctorum of nobility. Woe to the unwary female, who intrudes there, without a patent of nobility in her pocket. Shame awaits her. The vergeress is dispatched to dislodge her, without mercy, or remission.

How the learned justice was emancipated, or removed from the college of surgeons, is a story, fittest to be told by himself, and will be told by him, in the course of his being produced on the table—not for dissection (he is not dead yet,) but for examination. Feeling the great importance and obligation of an oath, he was willing to apply that test to his brother justice, whom he suspected of Fudaism. Foiled in his hope there, he was willing to resort to another and more certain criterion—a bit of fat.

He has convened a grand sanhedrim of the circumcised, with an intention of making all their Rabbins justices of the peace.

The facetious justice here attempted to imitate the Fewisb manner of speaking.

The editor confesses himself at a loss as to the person here meant. He finds no data, on which he may found conjecture. The word perquisite is taken, in a large sense, the thing itself is taken in a larger manner, by various classes of the community. Clerks in office.—Guagers, excisemen and other gentlemen of the Cuftom-bouse—menial servants—whoever ********* may be, or to whatsoever description of active citizens he may belong, it is plairt that he must be some person of no very nice palate, of greedy appetite, strong stomach, and powerful digestion. The editor would be inclined to suppose him an Israelite indeed, were it not that be manifests no kind of antipathy to the swinish multitude.

Fronti nulla fides. This character, by a holiday speech and a smooth exterior, recommended himself to the parliamentary opposition. He afterwards turned and vamped his coat, and made a figure at court.

Observe the harsh alliteration in this line, expressive of the thing signified.

O qualis facies, & quali digna tabella!

This pun is borrowed from Switt.

The fair Dennira was sometimes fond of showing her arbitrary power. There is a distinction, between an invitation to Cards, and one to Spend the evening: the one is exclusive, the other inclusive of Supper. It so happened, that old lady R******b had received an invitation to Cards at K*l****l*m, and, not having a carriage of her own, accepted of a seat from a lady who was invited to spend the evening. The night became wet; Lady R. was unable to get away, until the carriage of her companion arrived: in the interim, she ventured to place herself at a supper table; but was reprimanded by Dennira.

See Milton:

Camilla. See Virgil's Æneid, Book II.

From the expressions—vital stream—perfect love, let not the malicious reader suppose, that the wounded Dennira bled aqua vitæ or parfait amour. No, no—the meaning is, that her heart was formed for love, that it flowed through her veins with the vital blood.

The apple.

As Spenser contrives to introduce Gloriana occasionally, and shews her. as the principal figure in his poem, though she does not constantly appear; so has our author, with great propriety, contrived to make the beautiful duchess occupy the place of honour in his poem, by setting her in the most favourable point of view, and making her appear, as the benevolent patroness of peace and good humour.

Quere. What Hell? Whether metaphorical or literal? There is actually in Dublin a place of nightly resort, called Hell, with which the person here alluded to may not be unscquainted.

The birth place of the satyrical slave, Fuvenal, as Sbakespeare calls him. He describes the vicious excesses of the Roman ladies, with an honest indignation, but a colouring muck too warm.

Reader, I beseech thee, let not this expression excite any improper or irreverent idea—in one sense, the Amazon might be so called.

Observe here, I pray thee, reader, what a fine picture is given of a good and faithful steward, ever vigilant— ever saving of the public scraps and crumbs (whatever he may be of the large joints of meat, or the purse.) He is always attentive—always at his post, to detect and punish petty pilfevers (whatever may become of the big wholesale robbers.) He no sooner hears, that the dogs of office were prowling, to look for crumbs, than out he turns to protect the cheese parings and candle ends. While he was thus laudably employed, bowever, it unluckily happened, that the pet cats, the baboon, the lap dogs, and some other favourite animals not into the larder, and devoured, without interruption, a delicate loin of veal, a dozen of capons, a haunch of venison, and a baron of beef.

Hanaper. The Hanaper, Anglice Hamper, was a large basket, which, in the ancient times of laudable simplicity, sometimes contained the king's papers and records, and sometimes his provisions; and sometimes conveyed writings to his courts of justice—sometimes conveyed away the soiled dishes and plates from the royal table. The custody of this utensil was often entrusted to one of the king's fools.

Author of a book full of gross improbable lies, called, if I remember, the Seven Cbampions of Cbristendom, He is often quoted by Mr. Roscoe.

I suppose the author means here some prating gossiping old beldam, notorious for veracity.

See the Rebearsal.

The Dance of Death, by Hans Holbein.

This noble lord here alluded to, seems to have been in a somewhat aukward situation at Paris. I am glad to find that he will again be at leisure to employ his metaphysics in the praise of prodigality.