PART II.
RECITATIVE accompanied.
Enough the parents praise—see of Deceit
The fairer progeny ascends!
Evasion, nymph of agile feet,
With half-veil’d face;
Profession, whispering accents sweet
And many a kindred Fraud attends;
Mutely dealing courtly wiles,
Fav’ring nods, and hope-fraught smiles,
A fond, amusive, tutelary race,
That guard the home-pledg’d faith of Kings—
Or flitting, light, on paper wings;
Speed Eastern guile across this earthly ball,
And waft it back from Windsor to Bengal.
But chiefly thee I woo, of changeful eye,
In courts y’clept Duplicity!
Thy fond looks on mine imprinting,
Vulgar mortals call it squinting—
Baby, of Art and Int’rest bred, }
Whom, stealing to the back-stairs head }
in fondling arms—with cautious tread, }
[8]Wrinkle-twinkle Jenky bore,
To the baize-lin’d closet door.
AIR.
Sweet nymph, that liv’st unseen
Within that lov’d recess—
Save when the Closet Councils press,
And junto’s speak the thing they mean;
Tell me, ever-busy power,
Where shall I trace thee in that vacant hour?
Art thou content, in the sequester’d grove,
To play with hearts and vows of love!
Or emulous of prouder sway,
Dost thou to list’ning Senates take thy way?
Thy presence let me still enjoy,
With Rose, and the lie-loving boy.
AIR.
[9]No rogue that goes
Is like that Rose,
Or scatters such deceit:
Come to my breast—
There ever rest
Associate counterfeit!
PART III.
LOUD SYMPHONY.
But lo! what throngs of rival bards!
More lofty themes! more bright rewards!
See Sal’sbury, a new Apollo sit!
Pattern and arbiter of wit!
The laureate wreathe hangs graceful from his wand;
Begin! he cries, and waves his whiter hand.
’Tis George’s natal day—
Parnassian Pegassus away—
Grant me the more glorious steed
Of royal Brunswick breed[10]——
I kneel, I kneel;
And at his snowy heel,
Pindarick homage vow;—
He neighs; he bounds; I mount, I fly—
The air-drawn crosier in my eye,
The visionary mitre on my brow—
Spirit of hierarchy exalt thy rhyme,
And dedicate to George the lie sublime.
AIR for a Bishop.
[11]Hither, brethren, incense bring,
To the mitre-giving king;
Praise him for his first donations; }
Praise him for his blest translations, }
Benefices, dispensations. }
By the powers of a crown;
By the many made for one;
By a monarch’s awful distance,
Rights divine, and non-resistance,
Honour, triumph, glory give—
Praise him in his might!
Praise him in his height!
The mighty, mighty height of his prerogative!
RECITATIVE by an Archbishop.
Orchestras, of thousands strong,
With Zadoc’s zeal each note prolong—
Prepare!
Prepare!
Bates gives the animating nod—
Sudden they strike—unnumber’d strings
Vibrate to the best of Kings—
Eunuchs, Stentors, double basses,
Lab’ring lungs, inflated faces,
Bellows working,
Elbows jerking,
Scraping, beating,
Roaring, Sweating.
Thro’ the old Gothic roofs be the chorus rebounded,
’Till Echo is deafen’d, and thunder dumb-founded:
And now another pause—and now another nod
—All proclaim a present God!
[12]Bishops and Lords of the Bedchamber,
George submissive Britain sways;
Heavy Hanover obeys.
Proud Ierne’s volunteers,
Abject Commons, prostrate Peers—
All proclaim a present God—
(On the necks of all he trod)
A present God!
A present God!
Hallelujah!
[1] Hail to the LYAR!] It was suggested to me, that my friend the Doctor had here followed the example of Voltaire, in deviating from common orthography.—Lyar, instead of Lyre, he conceives to be a reading of peculiar elegance in the present instance, as it puts the reader in suspence between an inanimate and a living instrument. However, for my own part, I am rather of opinion, that this seeming mis-spelling arose from the Doctor’s following the same well-known circumspection which he exercised in the case of Mr. Wedgewood, and declining to give his Ode under his hand; preferring to repeat it to Mr. Delpini’s Amanuensis, who very probably may have committed that, and similar errors in orthography.
[2] Winds its sly way, &c.] A line taken in great part from Milton.
The whole passage (which it may not be unpleasing to recall to
the recollection of the reader) has been closely imitated by
my friend Prettyman, in a former work.
“I, under fair pretence of friendly ends,
And well-placed words of glozing courtesy,
Baited with reasons not unplausible,
Wind me into the easy-hearted man,
And hug him into snares.” COMUS.