The peripatetic or, Sketches of the heart, of nature and society; In a series of politico-sentimental journals, in verse and prose, of the eccentric excursions of Sylvanus Theophrastus; Supposed to be written by himself [by John Thelwall] |
 | [I]. |
| II. |
[Eternal curses wait his Crime,—] |
| III. |
 | The peripatetic |  |
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[Eternal curses wait his Crime,—]
Eternal curses wait his Crime,—The monster whose atrocious hand
(When Freedom's patriot soul sublime
Would vindicate an injur'd land)
First lifts, with thirst of slaughter fir'd,
The Assassin's steel, and headlong leads
The frantic crowd to desperate deeds!—
The frantic crowd, by rage inspir'd,
Who when the indignant spirit flames
With Freedom's or Religious zeal,
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And rush on deeds which Heaven disclaims,
And shuddering Virtue scorns to own:
Deeds that almost in horror vie
With those that prop the Despot's throne,
Or Priestcraft's sable vesture die:—
Deeds that the noblest Cause profane,
And sully Freedom's holy train!
| The peripatetic | |