Some man’s desertion, or some maid’s disgrace?
Or wert thou call’d, as parish priest, to give
Name to a new-born thing that would not live,
That its weak glance upon the world had thrown,
And shrank in terror from the prospect shown? 10
Or hast thou heard some dying wretch deplore,
That of his pleasures he could taste no more,
Who wish’d thy aid his spirits to sustain,
And drive away the fears that gave him pain?
For priests are thought to have a patent charm