 | Verses on several subjects (1802) |  |
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MORE OF THE SEQUEL OF THE LONG STORY.
DISCOVERED IN THE YEAR 1801 .
Here, sudden from the shadowy band,
A spruce and gallant spirit started;
Trim were his whiskers, white his hand,
Adonis-form'd, and lion-hearted.
A spruce and gallant spirit started;
Trim were his whiskers, white his hand,
Adonis-form'd, and lion-hearted.
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Victor of ladies and of foes,
The tilt-yard trembled at his lance;
Soft madrigals he could compose,
Could strike the lute and lead the dance.
The tilt-yard trembled at his lance;
Soft madrigals he could compose,
Could strike the lute and lead the dance.
In courts, or camps, where'er he mov'd,
Respect and fame his steps attend;
Honour'd by kings, by beauties lov'd,
Eliza's subject, Sydney's friend.
Respect and fame his steps attend;
Honour'd by kings, by beauties lov'd,
Eliza's subject, Sydney's friend.
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Thus, in the middle of his prosing,
He cuts the Lord Chief Justice short:
“Friend Coke, you set the audience dozing;
“'T is time, Sir, to adjourn the court.
He cuts the Lord Chief Justice short:
“Friend Coke, you set the audience dozing;
“'T is time, Sir, to adjourn the court.
“Bards can to fable truth impart,
“Embellish'd by poetic diction;
“You, lawyers, have the happier art,
“To make ev'n truth appear a fiction.
“Embellish'd by poetic diction;
“You, lawyers, have the happier art,
“To make ev'n truth appear a fiction.
“Though, gentle Bard! no votive lay
“Shall mark where rests thy hallow'd dust;
“Though solemn fabrics far away
“Receive thy consecrated bust:
“Shall mark where rests thy hallow'd dust;
“Though solemn fabrics far away
“Receive thy consecrated bust:
“Yet know a patron shall arise,
“Sprung from high chiefs of Albion's band;
“From sages sprung, who humanize
“With arts of peace a savage land.
“Sprung from high chiefs of Albion's band;
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“With arts of peace a savage land.
“He, 'mid these scenes whose shades among
“The warbling Muses caught thine ear,
“Worthy the poet and the song,
“A monumental shrine shall rear.
“The warbling Muses caught thine ear,
“Worthy the poet and the song,
“A monumental shrine shall rear.
“Near, are the village fathers laid,
“Recorded in thy plaintive strain,
“Near, Eton's academic shade,
“And lofty Windsor's proud domain.
“Recorded in thy plaintive strain,
“Near, Eton's academic shade,
“And lofty Windsor's proud domain.
“Here, when the moon's wan lustre pours
“A trembling radiance o'er the grove,
“Or in pale twilight's glimmering hours,
“Thy gentle spirit oft shall rove.
“A trembling radiance o'er the grove,
“Or in pale twilight's glimmering hours,
“Thy gentle spirit oft shall rove.
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“Not like the goblins grim that scare
“The maidens as they come from milking,
“And render useless Jefford's care,
“Her hopes of cream and custard bilking:
“The maidens as they come from milking,
“And render useless Jefford's care,
“Her hopes of cream and custard bilking:
“Mild as the Sylphs that gently rise,
“That glide in airy form along;
“And, unobserv'd by vulgar eyes,
“Seen only by the man of song.
“That glide in airy form along;
“And, unobserv'd by vulgar eyes,
“Seen only by the man of song.
“The massy roofs, the embattled wall,
“That seem the assaults of Time to scorn,
“Shall fall—but glorious in their fall,
“With ruin'd state the scene adorn.
“That seem the assaults of Time to scorn,
“Shall fall—but glorious in their fall,
“With ruin'd state the scene adorn.
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“While on yon upland's breezy height,
“Design'd by classic Wyatt's taste,
“A polish'd dome shall charm the sight,
“With Græcia's purest orders grac'd:
“Design'd by classic Wyatt's taste,
“A polish'd dome shall charm the sight,
“With Græcia's purest orders grac'd:
“And in the placid wave below,
“That seems through shadowy dells to glide,
“With mild refulgence shall it glow,
“Reflected in the silver tide.
“That seems through shadowy dells to glide,
“With mild refulgence shall it glow,
“Reflected in the silver tide.
“The walls excluding every view,
“The walks by line and compass laid,
“Clipt to unsightly shape the yew,
“And cabinets of tonsile shade,
“The walks by line and compass laid,
“Clipt to unsightly shape the yew,
“And cabinets of tonsile shade,
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“Shall vanish all—for 'mid these seats
“Lo! a magician waves the wand;
“And starch formality retreats
“From Albion's cultivated land.
“Lo! a magician waves the wand;
“And starch formality retreats
“From Albion's cultivated land.
“Thro' fragrant shrubs, thro' plants unknown,
“From climes yet undiscover'd brought,
“Smooth winds the undulating zone,
“As nature had its progress taught.
“From climes yet undiscover'd brought,
“Smooth winds the undulating zone,
“As nature had its progress taught.
“Nor shall, my Lord Chief Justice, you
“The change with envious eye discerning,
“Your legal worth neglected view—
“For, (friend of universal learning,
“The change with envious eye discerning,
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“For, (friend of universal learning,
“Patron of worth in every form,
“Revering happy Albion's laws,
“With patriot ardour nobly warm,
“Zealous in temperate Freedom's cause;)
“Revering happy Albion's laws,
“With patriot ardour nobly warm,
“Zealous in temperate Freedom's cause;)
“The princely owner's liberal hand
“Shall to thy name a column raise,
‘And all who tread this fairy land,
“As on its former lord they gaze,
“Shall to thy name a column raise,
‘And all who tread this fairy land,
“As on its former lord they gaze,
“Shall, while of taste this lov'd abode,
“With never-wearied step they trace,
“Bless the true votary of that code
“Which guards what every Muse has grac'd.”
“With never-wearied step they trace,
“Bless the true votary of that code
“Which guards what every Muse has grac'd.”
This is a continuation of the addition to Gray's Long Story, printed in the last edition of Mr. Penn's Poems.
This courteous ghost is supposed to be that of Sir George Fermor, an ancestor of the present proprietor of Stoke Park; he was a particular friend of Sir Philip Sydney, with whom he served in the Netherlands. He entertained James I. and his Queen the first time they met in England, at the seat of his family at Easton Neston, in Northamptonshire. (See Collins's Peerage, under the title of ‘Earl of Pomfret.’)
| Verses on several subjects (1802) | |