The abominable doctrines of the republican party are here held forth in their genuine colours, to the detestation of all true lovers of our happy constitution. The magician then thinks fit to endeavour to pacify the hero’s indignation, which we before took notice of, on seeing persons less worthy than himself preferred to the dignity of peerage, by the mention of two of those newly created, whose promotion equally reflects the highest honour upon government.
Lonsdale and Camelford thrice honour’d names!
Whose god-like bosoms glow with patriot flames:
To serve his country, at her utmost need,
By this, behold a ship of war decreed;
While that, impell’d by all a convert’s zeal,
Devotes his borough to the public weal.
But still the wise their second thoughts prefer,
Thus both our patriots on these gifts demur;
Ere yet she’s launch’d the vessel runs aground,
And Sarum sells for twice three thousand pound.
The generous offers of those public-spirited noblemen, the one during the administration of the Marquis of Landsdown, proposing to build a seventy-four-gun ship, for the public service; the other on Mr. Pitt’s motion for a parliamentary reform, against which he had before not only voted, but written a pamphlet, declaring his readiness to make a present of his burgage tenure borough of Old Sarum to the bank of England, are too fresh in the recollection of their grateful countrymen to need being here recorded. With respect, however, to the subsequent sale of the borough for the “twice three thousand pounds,” our author does not himself seem perfectly clear, since we afterwards meet with these lines:
Say, what gave Camelford his wish’d-for rank?
Did he devote Old Sarum to the Bank?
Or did he not, that envied rank to gain,
Transfer the victim to the Treas’ry’s fame?
His character of the Earl of Lonsdale is too long to be here inserted, but is perhaps one of the most finished parts of the whole poem: we cannot, however, refrain from transcribing the four following lines, on account of the peculiar happiness of their expression. The reader will not forget the declaration of this great man, that he was in possession of the land, the fire, and the water, of the town of Whitehaven.
E’en by the elements his pow’r confess’d,
Of mines and boroughs Lonsdale stands possess’d;
And one sad servitude alike denotes
The slave that labours, and the slave that votes.
Our paper now reminds us that it is time to close our observations for the present, which we shall do with four lines added by our author to the former part of the sixth book, in compliment to his favourite, the Marquis of Graham, on his late happy marriage.
With joy Britannia sees her fav’rite goose
Fast bound and pinion’d in the nuptial noose;
Presaging fondly from so fair a mate,
A brood of goslings, cackling in debate.
[1] See Mr. Rolle’s speech in the parliamentary debates.
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