And other planets circle other suns:
The forests dance, the rivers upward rise,
Whales sport in woods, and dolphins in the skies,
And last, to give the whole creation grace,
Lo! one vast Egg produces human race."
The allusion in the last line is to "Harlequin Sorcerer," in which Harlequin is hatched from a large egg on the stage. See Jackson's "History of the Scottish Stage," pages 367-368, for description of John Rich's excellence in this scene.
[ [137] In the "Dunciad" (book iii. verses 261-264) Pope writes:—
"But lo! to dark encounter in mid air
New wizards rise: here Booth, and Cibber there:
Booth in his cloudy tabernacle shrin'd,