The Works of Peter Pindar [i.e. John Wolcot] :: :: University of Virginia Library

The bard advises the Directors to submit to their degraded Situation; and by way of Consolation, informs them of the fallen State of the Poets—and, moreover, comforts the Directors with the Changes that take place amongst crowned as well as un-crowned Heads.

Yet not alone are you by kings despis'd;
Lo, lofty poets are no longer priz'd,
That to an eagle turn'd a popinjay;

329

That scorn'd of Time the ever-dreaded wars,
Turn'd winking rush-lights into blazing stars,
And stole from frail mortality, decay!

Poets, with that rare instrument call'd rhime,
Drew with the greatest ease the teeth of Time;
Snapp'd his broad scythe so keen, and broke his glass;
Clipp'd his two wings, and fix'd him on an ass:
Such was the envied pow'r of ancient bards,
When kings vouchsaf'd to crown them with rewards.

In days of old, the bards were sacred creatures,
Deem'd so exalted in their natures!
By numbers thought fit company for gods!
Lo, at the feasts of kings the minstrels sat;
Eat, sung, and mingled in the royal chat;
And scarcely did there seem a grain of odds.

Thus cried those kings of old, (delightful praise!)
‘Touch not the men of other days;
Hurt not a hair of those sweet sons of song,
Whose voices shall be heard amidst our halls,
When we, amidst of death the narrow walls,
In gloomy silence shall be stretch'd along.’

Scot-free the poets drank and ate;
They paid no taxes to the state!
Now comes a butcher, roaring ‘pay your bill;’
Now the blue-apron'd wight of beer,
And man of bread, approach and cry, ‘Look here;
Not one more morsel, not a single gill,
Shall, Master Poet, pass your piping throat,
Until you quickly pay up ev'ry groat.’
Unnatural! alas, what Gothic sounds!
Thus 'tis the rude profane a poet wounds!
At Windsor, when the monarch has been by,
How have I languish'd on the royal sty,
Where wanton'd fifty little grunting grigs!
But never had the king the grace to say,

330

‘You're hungry, hungry, Peter—take away,
Take, take a couple of the prettiest pigs.’

Oft of his geese too have I heard the notes,
And, hungry, wish'd to stop their gobbling throats;
But vainly did mine eyes around them wander:
How easily the monarch might have said,
‘You don't eat roast meat often, I'm afraid;
Take, take away the fattest goose or gander.’

Kings care not if we neither drink nor carve—
This is their speech in secret, ‘Sing and starve.’
And yet our monarch has a world of books,
And daily on their backs so gorgeous looks;
So neatly bound, so richly gilt, so fine,
He fears to open them to read a line!

Since of our books a king can highly deem,
The authors surely might command esteem—
But here's the dev'l—I fear too many know it—
Some kings prefer the binder to the poet.

Yet though it never was poor Peter's fate
To get a sixpence from the man of state,
Who rather tries to keep the poets under—
Oft have I dipp'd in golden praise the pen,
Writing such handsome things about great men,
That Candour's eye-balls have been seen to wonder.
Yet had it happen'd that the bard
Had borne on high-bred folk a little hard;
Good for an evil mortals should return—
'Tis very wicked with revenge to burn.
The sun's a bright example, let me say—
Obliges the black clouds that veil his ray;
Oft makes them decent figures to behold,
And covers all their dirty rags with gold.

But let us not an idle pother keep,
And, ass-like, at a revolution bray;

331

Lo, kings themselves, like cabbages, grow cheap:
Thus ev'ry dog at last will have his day—
He who this morning smil'd, at night may sorrow;
The grub to-day's a butterfly to-morrow.