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Horace in London

Consisting of imitations of the first two books of the odes of Horace. By the authors of the rejected addresses, or the new theatrum poetarum [Horace and James Smith]

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ODE XXXI. TO APOLLO.
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94

ODE XXXI. TO APOLLO.

Quid dedicatum poscit Apollinem.

What asks the Bard who first invades
With votive verse Apollo's shrine,
And lulls with midnight serenades
Thee, male Duenna of the Nine?
Not ven'son, darling of the church,
Mutton will serve his turn as well;
Nor costly turtle dress'd by Birch
He spurns the fat to sound the shell.
Fearing to trust to dubious stocks,
He ne'er invests his money there,
And views with scorn the London Docks,
Perch'd on his castle in the air.

95

Ye sunburnt peasantry of Gaul,
Go prune you vines for Norfolk's lord,
His jovial table welcomes all,
And laughing plenty crowns his board.
Favourite of Bacchus! see him lay
His comrades senseless on the floor,
And then march soberly away,
With bottles three, ay, sometimes four.
My skill in wines is quickly said,
I drink them but to make me merry;
Claret and port alike are red,
Champagne is white and so is sherry.
Grant me, ye pow'rs, a middle state,
Remote from poverty and wealth;
Above the poor, below the great,
A body and a mind in health.
And when old Time upon this head,
His snowy bounty shall impart,
Oh grant that he may never spread
Its freezing influence to my heart.