 | Poems on several occasions |  |
XXIII.—EPIGRAM.
[To save a scoundrel, Scotch and English meet]
To save a scoundrel, Scotch and English meet,And dukes and statesmen for his life entreat,
Whose every deed deserves a halter well,
Excepting that, perhaps, for which he fell.
But say, what intercession do we hear
For the learn'd prelate and the gallant peer?
Whose worth and virtues enemies allow,
Excepting that for which they suffer now.
For these what statesmen pray, what courtiers plead?
Tell it, to future ages tell the deed,—
That those for Charteris did a pardon gain,
Who Rochester in banishment detain,
And bid the exiled Ormond die in Spain!
| Poems on several occasions | |