University of Virginia Library

To Mr. SOWDEN, on the close of the Year.

The season clos'd, your reign expir'd,
The players and the people tir'd,
The town grown thin, the weather hot,
And ------ now almost forgot;
A grateful Muse her tribute pays,
(Although dethron'd she sings your praise)
Your subject once, and still your friend,
(How few on fallen power attend);
Yet she, with retrospective eye,
Esteems your worth, as when on high;
Your friendly worth, and moral mind,
To honesty and truth inclin'd;
Above deceit and selfish pride,
No fraud in view, no tricks to hide;
Ingenuous, candid, and sincere,
Your friendship's fix'd, your conduct clear.
This much my own experience can,
With truth assert, to praise the man:
The player too applause demands,
You had it from impartial hands;
When Prejudice herself asham'd,
Her own intestine malice blam'd,
And join'd with judgment, sense and taste;
For such your manly scenes have grac't,
To give desert its just reward,
A task indeed both rare and hard;
Yet this the publick paid to you,
With ardent hands, your merit's due.
Severest truth much more may say on,
Ventidius, Hotspur, Kitely, Leon.