From the strong fate of drams if thou get free,
Another D’Urfey, Ward! shall sing in thee!
Thee shall each ale-house, thee each gill-house[64] mourn,
And answering gin-shops sourer sighs return.”
An early allusion to Geneva is in a poem by Alexander Blunt, Distiller, 8vo, 1729, price 6d., called “Geneva,” addressed to the Right Honourable Sir R⸺ W⸺. It commences,
“Thy virtues, O Geneva! yet unsung
By ancient or by modern bard, the muse
In verse sublime shall celebrate. And thou
O W⸺ statesman most profound! vouchsafe
To lend a gracious ear: for fame reports